Washington, D.C. – Alex de Minaur claimed his 10th ATP Tour title on Sunday, outlasting Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a thrilling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3) final at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. The Australian, seeded 7th in the tournament, battled for 3 hours and 3 minutes to secure the ATP 500 title, moving up to 8th in the world rankings with the victory.
The match began with both players trading breaks in the opening set. Davidovich Fokina, the 12th seed from Spain, gained the upper hand with a 2nd break, firing crisp forehand winners to take the set 5-7 after over an hour of play.
De Minaur, however, found his rhythm in the 2nd set, converting 2 of 4 break-point chances and holding serve throughout. He sealed the set 6-1 with an ace in just over 30 minutes, leveling the contest.
The deciding set saw Davidovich Fokina surge ahead, breaking De Minaur to lead 5-2. Serving for the match at 5-3, the Spaniard reached 30-0, but De Minaur fought back, winning 4 straight points, including a critical moment when Davidovich Fokina sent a forehand long to hand the break back.
Facing 3 match points on his serve at 5-4, De Minaur stayed composed. The crucial moment came when he hit a lob that caught the line by just 16 millimeters, allowing him to recover and win the point. After a 10-minute game with 6 deuces, De Minaur held his nerve, and his serve, pushing the match to a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, De Minaur grabbed an early mini-break to lead 2-0, only for Davidovich Fokina to level at 2-2. The Australian then pulled ahead to 4-2 and, despite an unforced error, closed out the match with 3 consecutive points, capitalizing on a series of errors from his opponent to win 7-6(3).
De Minaur’s victory adds his name to the list of Australian champions in Washington, joining Tony Roche (1971), Ken Rosewall (1972), Lleyton Hewitt (2004), and Nick Kyrgios (2019, 2022).
Reflecting on the court’s significance, De Minaur said, “There is something about this court. I just kind of knew I could do it. I just backed myself and I told myself to commit no matter what and if I lost this match it was going to be on my terms. Today it went my way.”
Addressing his opponent, De Minaur showed his class, saying, “I want to start with Alejandro, as I told you and your team, you’re way too good to not have one of these. It’s coming for sure. You deserved it today. I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor and player. No one on the tour wants to play you. This is not the end. It’s only going up for you.”
Davidovich Fokina, visibly disappointed, acknowledged De Minaur’s performance, saying, “He deserved the win.” The Spaniard, ranked 26th, pushed De Minaur to the limit but fell short of his first ATP title since turning pro in 2017.
The title, his first for the year, marks a strong return to the top 10 for the 26-year-old as the tour heads toward the US Open. For Davidovich Fokina, the loss stings, but if he keeps knocking on the door, at some stage, it will open…surely.
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