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Match Details
Fixture: (7) Holger Rune vs (WC) Fabio Fognini
Date: Sunday, May 14.
Tournament: Italian Open 2023.
Round: Third Round (Round of 32).
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.
Category: Masters 1000.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €7,705,780.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Holger Rune vs Fabio Fognini preview
Seventh seed Holger Rune will take on Fabio Fognini in the third round of the Italian Open.
Rune has won 20 out of 29 matches so far this season, winning the BMW Open in Munich. The Dane also reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters before losing to Andrey Rublev.
Rune entered the Italian Open seeded seventh, thus receiving a walkover to the second round. Here, he faced Frenchman Arthur Fils and won the opening set 6-3. He made a break in the fourth game of the second set and that was enough to see him win it by the same scoreline and book his place in the third round.
Fognini, meanwhile, has won just four out of 12 matches so far this season, with his best performance so far coming at the ongoing Italian Open, where he received a wildcard.
The Italian faced Andy Murray in the first round and started the match well by winning the first set 6-4. The Scot fought hard in the second and won it by the same scoreline to force the match into a decider. Fognini, however, managed to win the final set 6-4 to book his place in the second round.
Here, the former top 10 player took on 30th seed Miomir Kecmanovic and won the first set 6-3. The second set was tightly contested and went to a tiebreak but the Italian won it to book his place in the third round of the Italian Open.
Holger Rune vs Fabio Fognini head-to-head
Rune currently leads 1-0 in the head-to-head against Fognini, having previously beaten him 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the 2022 Canadian Open.
Holger Rune vs Fabio Fognini odds
All odds are sourced by BETMGM.
Holger Rune vs Fabio Fognini prediction
Rune will enter the match as the heavy favorite but Fognini will be in good spirits after defeating two higher-ranked players in Andy Murray and Miomir Kecmanovic.
Rune was very strong on his serve in his previous match against Arthir Fils, winning 25 out of 31 points on his first serve. He also clinched 13 points out of 22 on his second serve. The Dane also hit 15 winners while accumulating 11 unforced errors.
He has fared pretty well on clay so far this season, with nine wins out of 11 matches. His baseline game and court coverage will come in very handy. However, the Dane will have to careful not to hit too many unforced errors since he produced 11 of those in his last match.
Fognini was very solid on his first serve in his match against Kecmanovic, winning 35 out of 40 points. His second serve, however, was a bit shaky, winning only 15 out of 31 points. The Italian plays his best tennis on clay and does well from the baseline. His agility on movement on the surface will also come in handy.
Whie Fognini should not be written out completely, Rune looks in pretty good touch and should be able to get the win.
Pick: Rune to win in three sets.
