"I lost, but I came out a winner," Fognini reflects on his last match against Alcaraz at Wimbledon
After an emotion-filled career, Fabio Fognini has decided to say goodbye to professional tennis. In a revealing interview, he shares his thoughts on his last match against Alcaraz and the decision that followed.
Fabio Fognini had a beautiful career. A former top 10 player and a Masters 1000 winner, the flamboyant Italian player decided to end his career during Wimbledon, a few days after his first-round defeat.
At 38 years old, he was up against the defending champion at the time, Carlos Alcaraz, and even pushed the Spaniard to his limits. The new world number 1 won in five sets (7-6, 5-7, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 in 4h24). In an interview with Ubitennis, Fognini reflected on this match and his subsequent decision to stop.
"Now that everything is over, I think I made the best decision. If things had been different, I would have had a big problem. If I had won this match against Alcaraz, I would have had a day off, then I would have faced the world's 700th player (Oliver Tarvet).
It would have been a huge mental challenge for me to start Wimbledon with a win against number 2, on the central court, and maybe finish it on court 14 against the world's 700th player.
I lost that match, but I came out a winner. I haven't watched that match yet, not even the highlights, but I would like to in the future, because the fans were impressed," assured Fognini.
Wimbledon 
