Davidovich Fokina's quest for a title: 'I know I'll have chances in the rest of my career'

ATP Tour

Davidovich Fokina's quest for a title: 'I know I'll have chances in the rest of my career'

Spaniard produced convincing first-round win at the US Open on Sunday

Scott Taetsch/Getty Images Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has reached three ATP Tour finals in 2025. By ATPTour.com/es Staff

Ultimately, it’s all about learning. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has lost three ATP Tour finals in 2025, and in two of them he held match points (Acapulco and Washington).

While his quest to claim his first trophy continues, the 26-year-old Spaniard is in no doubt about what he needs to do to get his hands on it.

“It’s a learning curve,” he admitted on Sunday after storming his way to a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 over Alexander Shevchenko, the most resounding Grand Slam win of his career. “If you look at the final at Delray Beach, after the 5-2, 15-40 I couldn’t play that game because I was really nervous and I was talking a lot. Then, in the Washington final, where I was 5-2 up and had match points, I kept fighting and I lost in a close tie-break.

“I think that’s the lesson; being calm during tense moments. And you get that from the weeks and the matches. There will be another chance. That’s tennis. I know I’ll have chances in the rest of my career. In the end, the finals I’ve been in this year, I’m learning from them and I use that to know how to handle it in the future.”

Watch Washington final highlights:

At the start of the year, Davidovich Fokina lost in Delray Beach to Miomir Kecmanovic despite having had a 5-2 lead in the deciding set and earning himself two match points. He also bowed out of the title bout in Acapulco against Tomas Machac and a few weeks ago he fell at the last hurdle to Alex de Minaur in Washington where he again had a 5-2 lead in the decider as well as three match points at 5-4 on the Australian’s serve.

After that defeat, the third in a final in 2025 (and the fourth final he has lost in his career), there was an outpouring of affection from many of Davidovich’s peers, including De Minaur himself, who sat with him on the bench in Washington and devoted some kind words to him at the prizegiving ceremony.

He was not the only one.

“Fils, Lehecka, Cobolli… I have several friends on tour and they could see I was in a bad place after that final,” confessed Davidovich Fokina, the No. 18 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. “I was struggling and I appreciated many of their messages. Fils is one of my best friends on Tour and also off court. That’s who I speak most with and I received a message from him straight after the loss.

“Ultimately, for me, it’s also like saying ‘I know I’m doing things right and the title will come.’ I think people know that too. Maybe it won’t be this year, but it’ll come one day.”

After that final in Washington, and without taking a break, Davidovich reached the last sixteen at the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto, where he retired from the match with Andrey Rublev, just as he did in Cincinnati, when he was unable to finish against Joao Fonseca.

“I was very tired, above all mentally and physically,” said the Spaniard. “I was exhausted. I’ve never played so many matches in a year and it takes its toll in the end. It wasn’t the best decision to play in Toronto after Washington. I didn’t get a single day’s rest and the fatigue accumulated.

“I had to retire in Toronto because my legs had gone. In the end, having a week and not resting, your body tells you it’s too much. We had to reflect and figure out what was happening. In the end it was all about getting a proper rest.”

Sometimes the solution is simpler than it may seem.

“The day after losing to Fonseca I went to Miami with my wife and spent four days there doing nothing,” said Davidovich Fokina. “We were relaxing on the beach and eating good food. After those four days I returned to Cincinnati where I was practising. I did a mini week-and-a-half preseason. That was my preparation for arriving here stronger.”

So far, it seems to be working. Having thrashed Shevchenko in his first match at the US Open, Davidovich is into the second round at Flushing Meadows and could not be feeling better.

Click here to read article