Fabio Fognini outlasts Andy Murray in three-hour battle that had plenty of verbals

ATP Tour
Fabio Fognini

Fabio Fognini won the match, but Andy Murray will be encouraged that he managed to give as good as he got for nearly three hours in the second round of the Shanghai Masters.

Barely 24 hours after he saw off Juan Ignacio Londero in three sets, Murray was once again taken to three sets by Fognini with the Italian winning 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 7-6 (7-2) in three hours and 10 minutes.

It was a heated encounter with quite a few verbals and it was Fognini who had the early upper hand as he broke Murray in game three of the first set, only for the former world No 1 to hit back immediately.

Two games later he again had a break and again Murray turned things around straightaway, but the 10th seed was not to be denied in the tie-breaker.

However, the Italian then lost his way in the second set and Murray claimed back-to-back breaks in games five and seven to draw level.

Things got really feisty in the third set as Fognini at one stage shouted midway through a point and the three-time Grand Slam winner was not impressed.

He told the Italian to “shut up”, adding “mate you say the same to everyone no matter who you’re playing”.

Chair umpire Fergus Murphy also got an earful from Murray, who told the official “he shouts and then tells me don’t look at me. He just shouted in the middle of the point.”

The Brit upped his game and got a break in game nine, but he couldn’t serve it out.

And lightning struck twice as he again broke Fognini in game 11, but once again failed to serve it out and the Italian then raced into a commanding lead in the tie-breaker before wrapping things up.

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