Alex De Minaur's epic comeback: Saves three match points to claim DC Open title

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina finally broke his title drought, securing his first ATP title at the DC Open after defeating Alex de Minaur 7-5, 1-6, 6-4. The 26-year-old Spaniard had lost in all three of his previously contested finals, but good news finally arrived for a player who had long been on the verge of achieving this feat.

The 12th seed had an absolutely remarkable week in Washington. He navigated the early rounds without problems, defeating compatriot Jaume Munar (6-4, 6-2) and then 19-year-old American Learner Tien.

In the quarterfinals, he faced top seed Taylor Fritz, whom he overcame in a tight battle (7-6, 3-6, 7-5), and then in the semifinals, he defeated world No. 8 Ben Shelton (6-2, 7-5), reaching his third final of the season and fourth of his career.

Against De Minaur (7th seed), things looked even beforehand, with a 2-2 head-to-head record, though the two hardcourt encounters had favored De Minaur.

First Set

In the first set, things started evenly with both players showing good returns. In the third game, Davidovich secured the first break, but De Minaur quickly broke back. It was a set where free points were hard to come by, but the Spaniard achieved more consistency from the baseline and greater aggression, hitting 12 winners compared to just 5 from De Minaur.

Both players found stability on their serve and maintained parity until 5-5, when the pressure mounted in the match. De Minaur committed a couple of unforced errors, giving his opponent a couple of break opportunities, which Davidovich ultimately capitalized on to take the lead. Davidovich Fokina saved a break point before closing out the set 7-5 and standing on the brink of his first title.

Second Set

However, De Minaur would not give up easily and started the second set convincingly. The Australian won 12 of the first 15 points played, taking absolute control of the game and surging to a 3-0 lead. The Spaniard only held his serve once in the 4th game but could not do much more against a De Minaur who conceded only four points on his serve and hit 5 aces.

With the score at 4-1 for the Australian, Davidovich conceded up to three break opportunities to his opponent, and De Minaur converted the second break. With confidence on his serve, he leveled everything by taking the set 6-1, sending the match to a decisive third set. The world No. 26 had only won 42% of points on his first serve and saw himself losing control of the match – just as had happened in his previous finals.

Third Set

Everything started evenly with both players comfortably holding their first service game. Then came Davidovich's run of points; he was unyielding on serve and from 1-1, he won 14 of the next 15 points, looking like an absolute dominator and taking a lead up to 4-1. This time, the Spaniard had a considerable advantage and only needed to hold his serve. De Minaur managed to pull ahead on his serve when he was down 1-4, 0-30, and all seemed lost.

'Foki' had the opportunity to serve for the victory, but pressure took its toll and the Australian's resilience came through. De Minaur seized a single opportunity to break back and re-enter the contest. With the score at 4-5, the Australian faced a test of nerves in a game that was extremely difficult to close out, and in which he saved up to three match points against him before managing to level at 5-5.

'Foki' had the opportunity to serve for the victory, but pressure took its toll and the Australian's resilience made itself present. De Minaur seized a single opportunity to break back and re-enter the contest. This time the Australian had the responsibility, but Davidovich wouldn't let the same thing happen as in the past. After a hard-fought game, the Spaniard created his opportunities and ended up closing out the victory on his fourth match point: 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.

Despite loss, Davidovich guaranteed a climb in the ranking to world No. 19, his career-high ranking As for De Minaur, he secured his 10th ATP title and can leave with positive feelings, The Aussie guaranteeing his return to the top 10 just before the Canadian Open begins, geting into the world No. 8.

Match Statistics Davidovich Fokina vs. de Minaur