Fabio Fognini, 37, who has shared a generation with the Big Three of world tennis, commented on the impact these three legends have had on the sport, especially now that only Novak Djokovic remains active.
“We are talking about three myths. From a sporting perspective and as a tennis fan, I am a fan of Federer. Without disrespecting the other two, I believe if we ask 95% of people, they would say they prefer Roger Federer. It was a delight to watch him play. Djokovic, on the other hand, when he’s on form, steals time and doesn’t allow the other player to play. And Rafa, what can I say about him… he annihilates rivals both physically and psychologically. When I faced him, except in Monte Carlo, which I ended up winning, I couldn’t stand up; it was always like that. When we greeted each other at the net, I was ‘dead’, and the next day I was very exhausted. It was tremendous,” reminisced the Italian.
Fognini has lost all four encounters against Roger Federer in his career and has won only 4 out of a total of 18 matches against Rafael Nadal; he has also never beaten Novak Djokovic, with 8 defeats in their head-to-head history.
