Nakashima floors Fognini in San Diego thriller

Rising talent American Brandon Nakashima came back from a set down to beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 7-5 at the San Diego Open.

Winning 80 per cent of his first serves, Nakashima came back from 2-0 down in the decider to draw level at 3-3 before breaking serve in the 12th game to close out the match.

“I did not think I played bad in the first set,” Nakashma said.

“He just played a bit better at and that’s all it takes against a player like that, but luckily I was able to regroup quickly, get a break in the first game of the second set and tried to ride the momentum from there.”

Nakashima will play Andrey Rublev in the second round.

Elsewhere, Aslan Karatsev has a comfortable win over Federico Delbonis 6-1 7-5.

The Russian will face either Metz Moselle Open champion Hubert Hurkacz or Australian qualifier Alex Bolt in the next round.

Peter Rowe

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