Fabio Fognini puts aside his differences after Davis Cup snub, praises team Italy for making Final 8

Fabio Fognini was all praise for his compatriots as the Italian squad secured its spot in the final 8 of the 2023 Davis Cup finals.

Italy was part of the Davis Cup Finals Group A alongside Sweden, Canada, and Chile. The team had the homecourt advantage and played in front of packed crowds in Bologna.

Team Italy started the campaign with a 0-3 loss to Canada. However, they quickly turned the corner in the remaining two ties. They made a clean sweep (3-0) against Chile on September 15. In the final tie on September 17, the players earned a 2-1 win over Sweden, with which they confirmed their place in the quarterfinals.

The group stage squad included Lorenzo Musetti, Lorenzo Sonego, Matteo Arnaldi, Simone Bolelli, and Andrea Vavassori. Jannik Sinner, Matteo Berrettini, and Fabio Fognini were three of the prominent names missing from the list.

Fognini, who recently criticized the team’s captain Filippo Volandri for excluding him from the team at the last minute, put his differences aside and praised the players for getting it done.

“Well done guys,” the veteran wrote on Instagram.

"I find Fabio Fognini's words profoundly ungrateful" – Italian Davis Cup Captain Filippo Volandri

2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage Bologna

Prior to the group stage matches, Fabio Fognini, who guided his team to the semifinals last year, blasted Italian Davis Cup captain Filippo Volandri for snubbing him.

The former World No. 9 revealed that he was poised to represent his country in Bologna, but was unexpectedly given the boot.

“While I was in Genoa, the captain's call came to me: suddenly I no longer fit into the plans, without justifiable explanations and in ways that I didn't agree with, disrespectful of my history and my Italian past, because until lastly I was informed that I would be in the squad,” the Genoa Challenger runner-up ranted.

Volandri did not take kindly to Fognini’s criticism and set the record straight about the exclusion. He noted that the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters champion, who has been plagued by injuries, did not earn the desired results this season and thus failed to qualify for the event.

“I am sorry to read the words of Fabio Fognini, for the choice of tones and terms, over the top, which he reserves not only to myself, but also to a team that has always supported him and to a federation that has always accepted his virtues and weaknesses. I find Fabio's words profoundly ungrateful,” he said, as per Ansa.

“His performance in the last three months did not meet the criteria which, in my opinion, must be met to obtain a call-up to Davis," he added. "The injuries of this period have convinced me to take other paths.”

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Edited by Anirudh Velamuri