The party took about three and three quarter hours to complete on the hardcourt in New York and came to an end until well after midnight.
Nadal won the first two sets yet, but the militant Fognini came back strong in the race. With low blows and sometimes miraculous rescues the Italian managed to turn the tide.
The fifth set provided a spectacle, in which both players excelled. So they broke each other seven times in a row. Fognini, however, drew the longest straw.
Nadal was mostly unable to cope with the attacking play of the Italian number 32 in the world, less than 57 unforced errors made but also seventy winners opposite said.
The former world leader, who felt that he had regained his good form found in New York, also exploited but eight of his nineteen breakpoints
Third defeat
It was the third time this year that the 29-year-old Nadal will lose out against Fognini, which is not known as a specialist on hardcourt.
In April the two were facing each other on the clay court tournament in Barcelona and won the Italian also in the third round. Also in the semifinals of the tournament in Rio de Janeiro in February won Fognini. In early August, Nadal won or mutual encounter in the final of the tournament in Hamburg.
The 28-year-old Fognini takes it in the eighth finals against Feliciano Lopez. The Spaniard took off in the third round of the surprisingly simple as tenth placed Canadian Milos Raonic:. 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-3
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