'Best way to say goodbye': Fognini announces retirement
The 38-year-old veteran pushed Alcaraz to the brink over more than four-and-a-half hours last week, twice clawing his way back into the contest against a player 16 years his junior before eventually falling 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 2-6 6-1 in the first round.
Despite the defeat, Fognini walked off to a standing ovation in his final Wimbledon appearance, a fitting farewell he clearly relished at what he described as the "most beautiful court in the world".
"I think it is the best way to say goodbye," Fognini, who once reached a career-high of world No.9, told reporters.
"It wasn't easy because the last three years of my career I was suffering a lot with injury. But as a competitor, I tried to do my best every time I stepped on court.
"But now I have to be honest with myself. I was not really positive, but now I have to be. I have to congratulate myself and say after that match I don't want to come back in some stage that I don't want to be there."
Fognini is married to Flavia Pennetta, who famously won her first grand slam singles title at the 2015 U.S. Open at the age of 33 before retiring later that year.
However, Fognini said he had no such opportunities as he acknowledged the harsh reality of competing during the sport's golden era when the 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominated the game.
"I was able to play in an era that probably is going to be the best era, forever, in the sport. I played against Roger, against Rafa, against Nole," he said.
"Winning a Slam for me was impossible. I have to be honest," he added with a smile.
Fognini was one of the great characters of the game, as notoriously temperamental and theatrical as he could be brilliant. He didn't always love Wimbledon either, once getting punished and having to apologise for suggesting in a grumbling on-court aside that the place should be blown up.
"I'm happy the way I say goodbye to the professional tennis career. I did my best," he said.
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