Alejandro Davidovich Fokina advanced to his second ATP Masters 1000 final after completing a remarkable comeback victory against top seed Alexander Zverev.
After conceding the closely contested opener to the two-time major champion, Davidovich Fokina rallied to clinch the win 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. The Spaniard secured just his second victory over Zverev, who recently confirmed year-end world number-one status, snapping a three-match losing streak in their head-to-head.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina speaks after reaching the final
“Like every match that I played here, it doesn’t matter about the result, just thinking about every ball,” said Davidovich Fokina in his on-court interview discussing how he turned the match around. “I knew that if I stay in the match, I can have at least one chance.
“So yeah, I took it from the second set. And in the third set, I think I was better physically. I was more excited than him after the second set. So the early break in the third set gave me a lot of power. So yeah, I just focused on just keep playing and doesn’t matter the result. Just enjoy it.”
Asked how missing two months from the tour has changed him, Davidovich Fokina replied: “I think you can see it. At the end, it’s not easy when you’re out. So you have a lot of time to think. And at the end, you don’t realise when you’re on tour.
Who is the best men’s player in the world right now?
Take your pick…
“I think we are very privileged to be here to play this sport. For me, I think before I was not enjoying, I was very frustrated. And this kind of time gave me a lot of thinking to see what I want to do with my future.” Davidovich Fokina missed the entirety of the North American hard court swing due to injury.
He will now compete in his second ATP Masters 1000 final, four years after losing his first at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Alexander Zverev has one more shot to win a Masters title in 2026
Despite his success at Grand Slams this year, as well as securing world number one status, Zverev has not gone all the way at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament this year. He made three consecutive semifinals in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo before reaching the Madrid Open final, losing to Jannik Sinner in all four of those runs.
Zverev then lost in the fourth round of the Italian Open, the second round in Montreal and the fourth round in Cincinnati. He quickly became the favourite to win the Shanghai Masters after the early exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, but has recorded another semifinal finish.
The 29-year-old now has just one more shot at winning a Masters title this year, which will come at the Paris Masters, which he won before in 2024.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
Add to Preferred Sources 