ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

January 10, 2026

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Alejandro, welcome to the interview room here at the Adelaide International. How are you feeling going into this week's tournament?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Well, I'm feeling good. I came here with good conditions physically. At the end last week it was not a good one, but at the end, starting the year, the first matches is always tough. I keep believing me that we did a very good job in pre-season, so just keep up to try to get the title this week.

Q. How does it feel to be the top seed coming in here? Do you feel extra pressure, or does it feel like something you can thrive on being the No. 1 seed?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Well, it's the first time that I've been the top seed. So, yeah, I would not say that I have pressure. You can see on tour that the top seed, the second seed, third seed, they can lose in the first round. At the end, the tennis is very at the same level right now, everybody can beat everyone.

I don't feel any pressure. I just want to keep going with what we practice in the pre-season and, yeah, that's all.

Q. You got the first round, a bye in the first round, the second round you got a fairly tricky one with...

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: I don't want to say. I don't want to know the draw.

Q. Okay. I won't tell you then. Looking ahead to Melbourne, you made the fourth round there last year. Is that the minimum that you want to make the second week at the slam? Is that sort of the expectation now?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Yeah, of course. Mostly I want to make the second week in all Grand Slams this year. So the first step is to get to Australia with a couple matches win, which I will try this week.

Yeah, at the end, last year in Australia, it was amazing, the two matches against Felix and Mensik. So I will try to don't do the same, to get 2-0 down in the first two sets. I will try to win in the straight sets.

Q. Aside from Brisbane last week, do you feel confident on the hard courts? You beat Taylor Fritz, who is a great player, a couple of times last year. Do you feel comfortable on the hard courts?

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: Yes, I think I did my best results in hard court last year. So I'm feeling, let's say, more comfortable on hard than on clay right now.

I improve my serve, I improve a couple things on the baseline, so I feel very good when I'm playing on hard court.

Q. What can the Adelaide fans expect from you? You don't mind a few dropshots and some underarm occasionally.

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA: (Laughing). No, just that they're going to see that I'm more calm than last year. Yeah, hitting a couple winners. I will not say that maybe more aces than last year, but nothing, they will not see something special.