MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN

July 27, 2025

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Press Conference

A. DAVIDOVICH FOKINA/B. Shelton

6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Alejandro, congratulations. It's your third final this year. Is this some of the best tennis you have been playing in your whole career?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Well, I think yes at the end. I'm very, very grateful to be in another final, and yeah, at the end it's not easy to play and win a lot of matches at the end. Every players improving a lot, and you see on tour that everyone can beat anyone, and I think I'm improving as well a lot of things on court and off court.

I'm very happy with my performance this year, and for sure it's one of the best years of my career.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congratulations on the match tonight. Last night was an incredible fight from you. Can you walk us through what happened after the match, what you did after, when you went to sleep, when you woke up today, and then what you did before getting on the court tonight?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Well, after the match, I did massage one hour. After, we went with my team to the hotel. We had dinner, everyone in their rooms.

I went to sleep at 5:00 a.m., and I woke up at 1:00, I think. We went to Starbucks to take a coffee. We did room service with my wife, and I went to sleep again. I woke up at, I don't know. At 5:00 we took the shuttle to come here, and I prepared the match.

Q. In this match, 5-All in the second set at 15-all, it seemed like Ben thought that his serve was a let. What was your perspective on what happened on that point?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: No, it was let, because I return and I stop, because was clearly let. And he stopped too. And the umpire didn't say nothing, and we were, like -- we continued the point, and he had the chance to smash it and win the point, but he miss it.

But we both knew that it was let, and we continue playing. We didn't stop. Then if he win the point, nothing happens at the end. The thing is I won it. He complained about that point, but nothing happened.

Q. You have three really good wins against Ben now. Is there something in his game that matches up well against your game, or what do you feel about your matches that you played?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Against who?

Q. Against Ben, three wins.

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Well, I will not say how strategically how I need to play against him, but I know that he's a very big server, very big forehand.

At the end, I knew that I know my weakness, I know my power, and I know that I'm very good returner. Then it's a tricky match, because at the end I can read a little bit how he serve. And at the end, I can do that he thinks more than maybe other players.

He did a very good serve today but a lot of double faults, and I went so much back because the second serve was bouncing a lot. I knew that I have to play deep, long, and just open the point, because physically I was there every point today.

In the other matches, the first match that we played in Paris was a little bit, we didn't know each other, we didn't know what was happening, but in Monte-Carlo was something the same at the end. Different conditions. Was so slow. And in rally, when we play in a rally, I know that I have more chances than him.

Q. I'm wondering your thoughts about playing Alex de Minaur tomorrow in the final, his game.

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Well, at the end is very, very solid guy. I know him since we were kids, and I know how he plays, he know how I play. I think we know each other, our weaknesses.

We practiced together in Monaco, and then I think it's going to be a tricky match, because I think we know very well each other. We will see. At the end, it's gonna be a different match as today. It's gonna be long rallies. He's gonna run, and me, I'm gonna run a lot.

It's gonna be, I think, a beautiful match to watch tomorrow.

Q. Novak has said that when the crowd is cheering for his opponent, he imagines that they are cheering for him instead. So here when the crowd is cheering for Taylor or cheering for Ben, are you imagining they are cheering for you, or how do you work through a match like that?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Maybe before I was hearing that they were cheering for me maybe couple years ago, but now, I want that. For example, I love to play in these stadiums against a local guy, and that they cheering for him, because that give me a lot of energy, like more energy.

To win here like double, like motivation for me to win.