Fognini says this Italian Open will be his last

Former world number nine Fabio Fognini said this year's Italian Open in Rome will be his last appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

The 37-year-old Italian will face Briton Jacob Fearnley in the first round on Thursday, marking his 18th main draw appearance at the tournament, having reached the quarterfinals in 2018.

"I think it's a good time to say goodbye in this beautiful city, special city," Fognini, who first played at the Italian Open in 2006, told the Tennis Channel on Wednesday.

"Since I was a kid, I was coming here to say, 'Oh let's see, let's hope to play one day'. And now I’m in the opposite (end of my career).

"But I'm here with a smile on my face because I know that I had a really difficult time during my, I don't know, 20 years in Rome and I would like to enjoy the last lap."

Fognini has won eight of his nine ATP singles titles on clay, including the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters. He said one of his fondest memories in Rome was beating then world number one Andy Murray in straight sets in 2017.