FOGNINI, HAAS HOPE TO END SEED EXODUS IN MUNICH

Written by: Staff on 30th April 2014

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament

FOGNINI, HAAS HOPE TO END SEED EXODUS IN MUNICH

epa04170002 Fabio Fognini of Italy reacts during his third round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tournament in Roquebrune Cap Martin, France, 17 April 2014. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER |

By Ricky Dimon

Three days into the BMW Open, only three seeds remain. No. 4 Gael Monfils withdrew prior to his opening match due to an ankle injury. No. 5 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 6 Feliciano Lopez, and No. 8 Ivan Dodig all joined him on the sidelines with first-round losses on Tuesday.

During second-round action on Wednesday it was Mikhail Youzhny’s turn to bow out. The third-seeded Russian fell to Martin Klizan 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(2) after two hours and 49 minutes.

The only seed to win a match so far is No. 7 Andreas Seppi, who survived his first-round match against lucky loser Michael Berrer 6-3, 7-5 on Monday.

Top two seeds Fabio Fognini and Tommy Haas will look to turn the tide during second-round action on Thursday, but neither man heads into the event with confidence. Amazingly enough, Fognini has lost 19 games in a row. Nineteen! That means he has not won a single game since 2-3 in the second set of a third-round Monte-Carlo match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Italian lost that encounter 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 and he trailed Santiago Giraldo 6-0, 4-0 in his Barcelona opener last week before retiring with a thigh injury.

Still, Fognini is 23-8 this season with a title in Vina del Mar. He will face Dustin Brown for the first time in his career after Brown beat Ivo Karlovic in a pair of tiebreakers on Monday.

Haas has not played since Indian Wells due to a shoulder problem. The defending Munich champion is 4-1 lifetime against his upcoming opponent, Alejandro Falla. Falla won their first-ever meeting seven years ago in Miami before Haas took four in a row. They have not squared off since the 2011 U.S. Open.

Topics: Fabio Fognini, Gael Monfils, Haas, Kohlschreiber, Munich, Ricky Dimon, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

April 30, 2014 at 5:56 pm

FOGNINI, HAAS HOPE TO END SEED EXODUS IN MUNICH – http://t.co/y5g6WW2eRg @fabiofogna @TommyHaas13 #Munich #tennis