Most definitely. Good to see J.D. break through and make a bit of a run at a big event. Though I don't think he'll ever be a top 10 or probably top 20 player, it is good to see Donaldson get a little of the spotlight that usually falls on his fellow teenagers like Zverev, Coric, Fritz, and even guys like Rublev, Tiafoe, and Kozlov. He definitely will reach a career high ranking after this win (gets 90 ranking points for R16 at M1000 event).
I saw some of this match, and both players really struggled to get anything on their serve. Lots of breaks. Not sure if they kept doing that as I switched to another match, but Fognini was certainly not at his most inspired.
Saw parts of both of Fognini's matches this week. One of the nice things about being at a Fognini match is that you have absolutely no idea what to expect.
After the late win in Umag, I was sure that some form of the roll-over-and-die-while-providing-some-entertainment Fognini would show up bleary-eyed against Johnson. But, no he sort of cared and dispatched the experienced American rather comfortably. Then I assumed, "hmm, this could get interesting -- he'll easily dispatch the inexperienced American & we might have a cracker of a R16 match against Raonic". But then the really-up-and-down Fognini showed up against Donaldson (some brilliant defense followed by inexplicably wild misses) and Donaldson made it over the line during one of Fognini's lulls.
At one point Fognini disputed a line call and sauntered by the line judge having a polite conversation about how far the ball was out. The line judge had to shake his head a couple times. Was surprised the umpire didn't jump in.
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