Fognini, the goodbye came like a bolt from the blue: that’s why their paths parted overnight.
With Jannik Sinner out of the picture and Matteo Berrettini absent for reasons that are unclear, on the singles front at the Internazionali di Roma, it hasn’t exactly gone as well as we had hoped. There hasn’t been a single Azzurro in the competition for several days now, but so be it: the good news is that, fate permitting, the Italians can make up for it next year and the year after that.
A separate discussion should be made, however, regarding the doubles. Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori were simply great and soon assumed, in light of this, the role of home favorites. The two tennis players put their signatures to some extraordinary tests, and the least that could have happened is that the mind wandered back to the past, to those magical times when the “older” of the two made magic on the court paired with another champion beloved by the Italian public.
They are not so distant in time, although the impression is that years and years have passed, the periods when Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini were, tennis-wise, one “thing.” They, too, even before the Bolognese began playing with Vavassori, did crazy things. And it is still a bit strange, to tell the truth, to see the 38-year-old on the court together with a player other than the talented champion from Arma di Taggia.
Fognini, that’s why they said goodbye
Many have wondered in recent months why at some point the paths of Fabio and Simone, who were friends beyond doubles and tennis, parted. And a pertinent answer, in that sense, has been provided, albeit belatedly, by Bolelli himself, who took advantage of an interview with Ubitennis to spill the beans on what happened.
“Our duo,” he said in reference to himself and Vavassori, “was born last year. I was playing with Fognini, Andrea with Demoliner. After Paris Fabio got injured, dropped in the ranking and decided to focus more on singles. So, our separation was almost forced. There Andrea and I talked to each other to see if we could pair up. Being both Italian and already friends, things could flow more easily. We also spend good time together off the field and this then, in the game, shows.”
An inevitable farewell, the result of the unexpected turn of events at one point. With a basic affection, however, that nothing and no one can ever change.