Verdasco survives major scare, outlasts Fognini

Fernando Verdasco, the big-hitting, eighth-seeded Spaniard, lost the last time he met 5-foot-9 Fabio Fognini, ranked 86th. That match was the first round at Wimbledon, and it was Fognini's only career victory against a Top 10 player.

That recent history may have had something to do with Verdasco's embarrassing start in this encounter, as the Spaniard came out misfiring badly, overhitting his normally reliable groundstrokes. But it doesn't really explain the Spaniard's suddenly sloppy, erratic play when he seemed to be on cruise control deep in the fourth set and on his way to the locker room.

On a hot day in which high-seeded players (Novak Djokovic and Mardy Fish), survived five-set scares, while others did not (Marcos Baghdatis), Verdasco didn't seem at all certain which group he would join.

Although Verdasco came back strongly after losing the first set, 6-1, and captured the next two, Fognini proved himself to be a dogged competitor, and the match unexpectedly turned into a dogfight as Verdasco allowed the unpowered Italian to take the match to a decisive fifth set.

Fognini, who's got compact strokes and a solid, if not exactly imposing game, gave Verdasco just about all he could handle, finally succumbing, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

The Italian has had his best results on clay, and some might remember him from a slightly surreal victory over the Frenchman Gaels Monfils, a match that was played well into darkness at Roland Garros (and had to be resumed the following day).

When Verdasco's cracking his favorite stroke, the fearsome forehand - typically a one-two punch, with a rolling angled forehand crosscourt, followed by an inside-out hammer into the open court, it's a thing of beauty. But when his confidence is waning, he can spray the forehand all over the court.

Though he almost let the match slip away, Verdasco dug in and snatched the fifth set. He knelt down and slapped the court in triumph for revenge against Fognini.