Monday reviewed by Goran Ivanisevic
We could not have asked for a better opening of the main draw! Of course, if we look from the perspective of Croatian tennis, we are sad that Mate Delić has been defeated by Aljaž Bedene, but if we look at the occupancy of the stadium during the evening match, the almost full Stella Maris "shell" when Fognini played against Vesely shows us what awaits us this week in Umag.
Let's start from the beginning. Mate Delić demonstrated that he can play good tennis, but it is also evident that he lacks self-confidence. His season was not great, but without a win it is very difficult to have faith in oneself. Mate has repeatedly shown us what he is capable of, last year he won against great players on clay, but this year things are not as they could have been. Against Aljaž Bedene he was always close. He had a chance to get back into the match, he had his chances, but he did not serve well enough to jeopardize the currently better opponent.
The evening match, as the tournament director wisely announced the day before, was a real treat. Fabio Fognini is a guy who can play unbelievable tennis and some of his repertoire he showed last night. The entire stadium, which was nearly sold out on Monday, certainly enjoyed his short balls, the incredible "winners" and moves that are not taught in tennis schools. I think that Vesely, who is a very good tennis player, will remember the passing backhand which he played from the front rows of the stands for a long time.
As we announced before the beginning of the tournament, this match is just another proof of how strong this year's Umag really is. A lot of tournaments would have no objections to have such an atmosphere and these players playing in the finals, and here we have offered this only on Monday. What can expect from the end of the week...
