Fabio Fognini was born on May 24th, 1987 in Sanremo, Italy. In 2007 he qualified for the French Open and let Juan Monaco two sets to love in the 1st Round only to lose the match in five sets. He then reached the 3rd Round of the Canada Masters beating Andy Murray 6 - 2, 6 - 2 en route.

Fognini started the 2008 season in fine style reaching the Quarter Finals in Vina Del Mar beating Juan Ignacio Chela in Round 1. Then just two weeks later he won three matches to progress to the semi finals at Costa Do Sauipe before losing to Nicolas Almagro in the last four.