5 most recent players who made their Masters 1000 breakthrough

Modified Mar 05, 2020 07:42 GMT

Stefan Edberg won the first Masters 1000 title at 1990 Indian Wells.

#4 Fabio Fognini (2019 Monte Carlo)

Fabio Fognini was the last man standing at the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters.

Making his 81st Masters 1000 appearance at the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters, there was little inkling of what was to transpire for Fabio Fognini later in the week.

Fognini needed to recover from a set deficit to get past Andrey Rublev in the first round. Following a 'walkover' win in the second round against French veteran Gilles Simon, Fognini downed young gun Alexander Zverev to reach his second quarterfinal at the tournament.

For a place in his first Monte Carlo semifinal, the Italian had to dig deep for the second time in the week, fighting back from a set down to beat Borna Coric to earn the right to lock horns with 11-time champion Rafael Nadal.

Playing one of his best matches on clay, Fognini surged to a 6-4 5-0 40-0 lead against the off-colour 19-time Grand Slam champion. Though Nadal managed to avoid his first bagel set on clay in 12 years (2007 Hamburg final against Roger Federer), it was too little too late as Fognini moved into his first Masters 1000 final.

Against another first-time Masters 1000 finalist Dusan Lajovic, Fognini won in straight sets to become the first Italian player to win a title in the tournament category.

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 18 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Musab Abid