Davidovich Fokina's body gives out, forcing retirement in epic battle with Rublev

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had to retire from his Canadian Open fourth-round match against Andrey Rublev after a two-and-a-half-hour battle in which he was unable to finish the third set. The Spaniard cited physical problems in the middle of a busy season.

The Spanish player has now reached 53 matches so far this season and was coming off a demanding week at the DC Open, where he reached the final, falling to Alex de Minaur. Davidovich Fokina had played eight matches in the last 10 days, with six wins and two losses, including the retirement when he was down 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 0-3 against Rublev.

The 25-year-old player entered the top 20 for the first time this week, in the midst of an exciting North American hardcourt swing. This year he has already reached three finals, and although he has not yet won his first ATP title, Davidovich Fokina seems closer than ever to making his breakthrough on the Tour.

First Set: Davidovich takes the lead in a tense tie-break

Both players started strong on serve. Rublev had a 69% first serve percentage, winning 85% of those points, while the Spaniard hit 74% of his first serves, winning 74% of them. Neither gave away many opportunities on their second serves, and they managed to hold their service games without major complications. Rublev wasted a break point in the fourth game, and Davidovich Fokina in the fifth, maintaining the parity with no breaks from either side.

Everything extended to a tie-break, where again, neither player conceded much on their serve. The Spaniard took a 4-3 lead and took advantage of the pressure on his rival to get two consecutive mini-breaks and take the set 7-6(3) with five consecutive points to close it out. The Spaniard won a tight set after 56 minutes of play.

Rublev fights back to take second set 

In the second set, Davidovich Fokina began to look worn down as the minutes passed, although he maintained parity. This time, he had to save several break points and struggled with his serve, while barely being able to win a point or two on the return. Rublev was closer to getting a break but failed to convert any of the five opportunities he had throughout the set.

Everything again came down to a tie-break, in which Davidovich Fokina had the chance to close out the win. However, it was the Russian world No. 11 who showed more class, not faltering on his serve and getting three consecutive mini-breaks to take the set 7-6(2) and send everything to a deciding third set. This time, the Russian had won 76% of his service points, while Davidovich Fokina only managed 62%.

Exhausted Davidovich Fokina retires in the third set

Although everything remained even throughout the match, Davidovich Fokina's physical condition deteriorated as the games went on. In the third set, Rublev took complete control as his opponent's physical discomfort grew. The Russian won 12 of the first 15 points and got an early break—the first of the match—to lead 3-0.

The Spaniard then complained of physical issues, apparently muscular, and chose to retire from the match in the middle of a busy season. The win went to Rublev with a score of 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 3-0, and he now advances to the quarterfinals, where he will face the winner between Taylor Fritz (No. 2) and Jiri Lehecka.

With this, Rublev returns to a Masters 1000 quarterfinal for the first time since Cincinnati 2024 and reaches the final eight for the 14th time at this level. The Russian will also leave with good news regardless of his next results, as he is guaranteed to return to the top 10 after briefly falling out last week.

Match Statistics Rublev vs. Davidovich Fokina