Fabio Fognini has been knocked out of the Australian Open as Alejandro Gonzalez produced a shock to beat the 16th seed 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.
A couple of errors from Gonzalez on serve opened the door early on, and Fognini looked in confident mood as he took full advantage by securing the early break to edge ahead.
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Gonzalez's struggles were clear throughout the opener, and despite saving three set points on his own serve, the Colombian was unable to prevent Fognini from storming into the lead.
A loss of serve looked to be just a minor blip for Fognini as he immediately broke back, but Gonzalez managed to pile the pressure on to secure two more breaks to get back on level terms.
Fognini was finding it difficult to create problems for his rival, whose varied approach made finding rhythm difficult, and the unforced error count continued to rise for the Italian as Gonzalez used a solitary break to wrap up the third set.
The world number 109 could have been forgiven for displaying nerves as he closed in on a big upset, but he remained calm on serve and claimed the crucial break he needed in the fourth set.
Fans in Melbourne may have been expecting a late fightback from Fognini, but they were left applauding Gonzalez as the 25-year-old booked a place in the next round by converting a third match point.
Callum Mulvihill
