Sixteenth seed Fabio Fognini will face doubles specialist Pierre Hughes-Herbert of France in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday, February 8, with the match likely to begin at around 10 am local time (11 pm BST or 6 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Fabio Fognini v Pierre-Hugues Herbert match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Fabio Fognini v Pierre Hugues-Herbert Head to Head
This is going to be the first singles meeting between the World No. 17 Italian and the Frenchman, ranked 84th in the world.
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Fognini Will Be Buoyed By Italy’s ATP Cup Performance
Having fired Italy into the final of the ATP Cup (Italy will meet Russia in the final on Sunday), World No. 17 Fabio Fognini will be high on confidence and will like to carry the momentum into the Australian Open, starting Monday.
The 2019 Monte Carlo Masters champion, who is a nine-time winner on the tour, has reached the quarterfinals of a major just once, having made the last eight of the French Open, 10 years ago.
At the Australian Open, Fognini has reached the fourth round on three occasions, in 2014, 2018 and 2020. Last year, the Italian right-hander was involved in a couple of gruelling duels on his way to the Round of 16.
First he came from two sets down to beat Reilly Opelka in the first round and then saw Jordan Thompson wipe off his two sets to love lead and force the decider in the second round, however, Fognini held his nerves to see off the Aussie in the fifth. The Italian got a straight sets win against Guido Pella next but couldn’t go past Tennys Sandgren in the fourth round.
A clay court specialist, who has won eight of his nine titles on the surface, Fognini won the Australian Open doubles title in 2014. Along with Simone Bolelli, he beat the pairing of Pierre-Hueges Herbert (his first round opponent on Monday) and Nicolas Mahut in the final to become the first all-Italian men’s pair to win a major in the open era.
Following a very good 2019 season when he captured his first Masters 1000 crown, reached five quarterfinals and also peaked to a career high ranking of 9, he had a disappointing 2020 season, when he finished 6-10.
The athletic Italian, who has had a few major temper issues in the past, would look to go past the fourth round in Melbourne this time around. He started the 2021 season in Antalya, winning one and losing one. At the ATP Cup, he suffered a shock defeat to Dennis Novak but won against Benoit Paire and then against Pablo Carreno Busta in the semifinal on Saturday.
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Can Herbert Handle the Nerves?
Taking on Fognini on Monday will be World No. 84 Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who is 1-2 from two tournaments this year.
The 29-year-old, who along with Nicolas Mahut has completed the career Grand Slam in doubles, had finished 2020 with a 10-10 singles record.
The Frenchman reached the quarterfinals in Doha and Montpellier last year, but has allowed nerves to get the better of him in close contests of late.
Last year, Herbert squandered three match points against Felix Auger Aliassime in the second round in Marseille and three against Dan Evans in Dubai. He also forced a fifth set against Goffin in the second round at the Australian Open and against Alexander Zverev in the Round of 64 at the U.S. Open, but failed to close out either of those contests.
The 2019 Australian Open doubles champion, Herbert has never gone past the third round of a major in singles. He has been there twice in Melbourne in 2016 and 2019.
Fognini v Herbert Prediction and Tip
While Herbert will test Fognini, expect the Italian to advance after a tough contest.
Tip: Fognini to win: 8/11 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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