Former World no.9 Fabio Fognini recently released his autobiography, ‘Warning: My life between the lines,’ giving us an unprecedented insight into his career. He has written about his on-court antics and about some of his notable colleagues like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. 

Fognini spoke at length about his encounters with Federer. The Italian reserved special praise for Federer’s attitude.

“I’m always surprised by the difference between Federer’s daily life and Federer’s on the pitch. A kind man who wants to laugh and joke with everyone,” Fognini wrote.

Fabio Fognini on playing against Roger Federer

Fognini also revealed the funny side of the Swiss maestro, describing how he would constantly poke fun at him.

“Federer jokes all the time. ‘How handsome are you Fabio?’, He mocks me. ‘If only I was as beautiful as you.’“ ( quotes are translated from Spanish)

Talking about his on-court encounters with Federer, Fognini wrote that out of all his defeats, the ones against Federer cause him the least agony.

“Of all my defeats, his are the ones I least regret. I know that I gave everything I had every time and I lost again against the best of all,” Fognini wrote in his book.

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Federer has dominated Fognini in their head-to-head record. The Swiss Master leads the head-to-head 4-0 against the Italian. In fact, Fognini hasn’t taken a single set in the four matches played against Federer.

Further in the book, Fognini wrote about his on-court troubles with fines and warnings. He also wrote about Rafael Nadal and his feud with Andy Murray.

Read more: “Andy Murray Was Arrogant”: Fabio Fognini Reveals Rocky Relationship With the British Star

Well, for now, Federer is out until 2021 due to his knee surgery. But Fognini just played yesterday at the Italian Open 2020. Sadly, the Italian went down in a disappointing straight-set loss to Ugo Humbert in the 2nd round.

It is a disappointing result for Fognini, given the French Open 2020 is just a few weeks away. The Italian just played his 2nd match in the season restart and it was evident that he lacked match practice.