Alex de Minaur narrowly avoided missing out on claiming his 10th Tour-level title after saving a trio of match points before beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to win the Citi Open.
The Australian held his nerve to prevail 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3), over Davidovich Fokina, who was seeking to win his first ATP trophy of any kind. De Minaur was trailing 1-4 in the deciding set and then had to save a trio of match points when down 4-5 before levelling the match. Then in the tiebreaker, he won five out of the last six points played to seal the victory.
Shortly after the match ended, de Minaur was seen consoling his opponent on the court, who was in tears. It is the second time this season that Davidovich Fokina has lost a Tour final after having match points. It also happened to him at the Delray Beach Open against Miomir Kecmanovic. Washington was the fourth ATP final he has played in his career and the third this season.
“I feel for him,” de Minaur said afterwards. “Nothing I could say in that moment was going to make the situation better. I just wanted to let him know how good of a player he is.”
Despite his loss, the Spaniard will make his top 20 debut at the age of 26 as a result of his latest run.
“Another day, another unlucky day, but I’m happy how I played,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I will continue to work harder to have the trophy.”
“I’m happy that I’m top 20, but the goal today was to lift the trophy.” He added.
De Minaur has won 22 hard-court matches so far this season, which is more than any other player on the ATP Tour. Overall, he has recorded 35 wins across all surfaces since January against 13 losses. He has now risen to eighth in the rankings, which is just two spots below his career best.
“I’m very happy with where I am at the moment, how I’m dealing with things on and off the court,” de Minaur commented. “I had the mindset that even if today (Sunday) didn’t go my way, it was a very positive week.
“So I was proud of my efforts no matter what, but jeez it feels good to hold my 10th title.”
Ahead of the US Open, de Minaur could add to his points tally at the Masters events in Toronto and Cincinnati, which are two events he missed last year due to injury.
