Experienced Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini thinks it’s great for Italy to be hosting the Next Gen ATP Finals and added it is very important to have promising Italian tennis players competing at the event. The Next Gen ATP Finals, which held its inaugural edition in 2017, is an event where the best under-21 stars are competing.
This year’s Next Gen ATP Finals edition kicked off on Tuesday in Milan, with Fognini and his wife Flavia Pennetta enjoying the tennis from the stands. Three Italian players – Lorenzo Musetti, Francesco Passaro and Matteo Arnaldi – are competing at the tournament.
“It’s nice. Milan, it’s a really beautiful city. For the tennis, especially because we are in Italy, it’s really important for us to have these kind of [Italian] guys who are on the top of the world [playing].
It’s always nice. I always say that the more we are, the better it is. There are three Italians, Lorenzo [Musetti], [Francesco] Passaro and Matteo [Arnaldi]. It’s really important for us,” Fognini told the ATP Tour website.
Fognini fully supports the Next Gen ATP Finals project
“It’s quite important to have these kind of events because of course you have a chance [for] young guys to play. But at the same time [you have] young guys who are on top of the world and they play really well.
It’s really, really nice and of course my opinion it’s fantastic. It’s a great event,” Fognini added. Meanwhile, 35-year-old Fognini didn’t enjoy much success this season as he was 19-23 on the main level.
Fognini’s most notable results of the year came in Rio de Janeiro and Belgrade, where he made the semifinals. On the biggest stage – Grand Slam and Masters events – Fognini didn’t have any notable results. Fognini competed at last week’s Paris Masters, where he made it past the qualifying before losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.
