Fabio Fognini: US Open Player of Day Five

Sep 4, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Fabio Fognini of Italy gestures after winning a point against Rafael Nadal of Spain (not pictured) on day five of the 2015 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

US Open Player of Day Five: Fabio Fognini

Fabio Fognini, yet again, played the role of Rafael Nadal’s worst nightmare on Friday night at the US Open.

Fognini and Nadal had met three times this year, with the Italian incredibly claiming two of their encounters in Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro. Nadal, meanwhile, claimed victory in the Hamburg final.

In the early stages of their third round match under the lights of Arthur Ashe, it seemed that Nadal would level their head-to-head for the year. Despite some passive play, the Spaniard clinched the first two sets against an error-prone Fognini.

Nadal’s lack of aggression, though, began to cost him, as Fognini’s flashy groundstrokes started landing in the court as winners. The Italian ultimately stole the match in five sets.

Nadal looked out of sorts last night. His once-bullying forehand lacked bite and he seemed content tracking down Fognini’s much more aggressive shots and waiting for errors. But the errors never came. And as a result, Nadal lost a match, after being up 2 sets to none, for the first time in his career.

On the other hand, there’s no denying the fact that Fognini was incredible in front of the boisterous New York crowd. The inconsistent Italian managed to find his best game against the most resilient of opponents. His winners count amounted to more than double of Nadal’s, and a large band of the winners were improbable and almost beyond-belief.

Fognini will now face Feliciano Lopez for a place in just his second grand slam quarterfinal. Knowing the tempestuous, unstable Italian, he will probably lose the match.

But for now, Fabio Fognini is our Player of the Day for Day Five of the US Open.

Winner: Venus Williams

If you want to see Venus Williams at her very best, you need not look back to her days as a grand slam contender. Instead, look to her performance in the third round against no. 12 seed Belinda Bencic, where she defeated the young Swiss in two sets. Bencic didn’t play a bad match, but everything just seemed to be working for Venus. Her serve was perfect. Her groundstrokes was perfect. And today, Venus was as close to perfection as she’s been in a long time.

Winner: Eugenie Bouchard

Whether it’s the bulging schedule comprised of singles, doubles and mixed doubles, the inclusion of Jimmy Connors in her team, or the atmosphere of the year’s final grand slam, something has clicked for Eugenie Bouchard at the US Open. Her victories over Alison Riske and Polona Hercog were encouraging, but her clutch three set victory over grand slam finalist Dominika Cibulkova could prove monumental for her on her path back to the top.

Also, look out for her mixed doubles partnership with Nick Kyrgios. They claimed another tough victory today, and appeared to have a VERY good time doing so.

Former Players of the Day

Day Four: Johanna Konta

Day Three: Madison Keys

Day Two: Caroline Wozniacki

Day One: Benoit Paire

Who do you think was the best player of day five at the US Open? Let us know in the comments below!

Next: Power Ranking Serena Williams and the Top 25 Women Before the US Open

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