Fognini led 4-1 before dropping serve in the third. He held on and became the first Italian champion in Stuttgart.
Juan Carlos Ferrero overcame a long rain delay on Sunday to defeat Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-0 in an all-Spanish final of the Mercedes Cup.
Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-3 in an all-Spanish showdown to reach the semifinals of the clay-court Mercedes Cup on Friday.
Juan Carlos Ferrero knocked out the last remaining seed at the Mercedes Cup when he beat No. 3 Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2 in the second round on Thursday.
Victor Hanescu of Romania saved two match points before beating top-seeded Gael Monfils 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 in the first round of the Mercedes Cup on Wednesday.
Santiago Giraldo of Colombia upset second-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 7-5 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the Mercedes Cup.
German wild card Cedrik-Marcel Stebe celebrated his first victory on the ATP tour when he upset sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Mercedes Cup on Tuesday.
Juan Martin del Potro on Tuesday became the second Argentine qualifier to reach the second round of the Mercedes Cup.