Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s coach, Mariano Puerta, left him during Roland Garros.
Rumours spread like wildfire on Wednesday, as some fans tried to work out why Davidovich Fokina and Puerta split after making a winning start together at the French Open.
Should Mariano Puerta be blacklisted from coaching following his split from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina?
Apparently he's done this before…
However, after losing his second-round match, Davidovich Fokina cleared up the rumours, explaining what really happened between him and Puerta.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina says Mariano Puerta left ‘without saying a word’ and hears he has done this before
During his post-match press conference, Davidovich Fokina explained how Puerta left mid-tournament.
“After the match against [Damir] Dzumhur, we had lunch, and after that I went to cool down a little bit,” said Davidovich Fokina.
“He said he was feeling bad, he was going to the hotel and he went to the hotel.
“Everything normal, you know?
“Nothing happened between the team, between us.
“And in the afternoon, like two, three hours later, he text me like this [long] message, and he will not continue and whatever.
“He didn’t say nothing to anybody, to the team, he just took the flight, and he flew to Miami without saying a word to us, and after that, I heard that he did a couple of times before, with other players.
“It seems normal for him…
“Not my problem, he’s an adult, he can make his own choices.”
The world number 23 doesn’t think he is the only player to have been abandoned by Puerta, suggesting others suffered the same fate.
Before coaching Davidovich Fokina, Puerta worked with Brandon Nakashima and Laslo Djere, although it’s unclear how the Argentine handled his departure from their teams…
Davidovich Fokina continued, sharing what he now thinks of Puerta as a person.
“I don’t know, I don’t know if I’m going to respond or answer that message, but as a person, for all the team, he failed…” he said.
“So nothing to say more.
“We didn’t fight. The thing is, we didn’t fight; everything was normal. In the match, everything was normal. We were communicating in the match against Dzumhur, and I don’t know what to say. It was strange.
“But nothing can surprise me anymore, I have a lot of things through my career, so this is another thing, but I thought that he was a very good person, and after that, I discovered that he did a couple of times before with other players. I was like, ok, it was my fault to hire him.”
Davidovich Fokina takes responsibility for the hire, but it’s Puerta who deserves the criticism, if what the Spaniard is saying is true.
Leaving someone high and dry in the middle of a Grand Slam tournament is simply unacceptable, and other players will now surely be wary of giving Puerta a chance.
What’s next for Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after Mariano Puerta split?
Davidovich Fokina must have thought Puerta, a former French Open finalist, would give him the guidance he needed to excel at this year’s event.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t have been more wrong…
Trying to come to terms with the dramatic split, Davidovich Fokina lost to Thiago Agustin Tirante in the second round, 6-4, 6-7, 1-6, 3-6.
He will now need to move on and set his sights on the grass-court season.
Luckily for Davidovich Fokina, he is in a strong position, sitting 21st in the ‘Live ATP Rankings’.
Live ATP Rankings
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 17 | Casper Ruud | Norway | 2,275 |
| 18 | Learner Tien | USA | 2,220 |
| 19 | Valentin Vacherot | Monaco | 2,145 |
| 20 | Arthur Fils | France | 1,940 |
| 21 | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | Spain | 1,860 |
| 22 | Arthur Rinderknech | France | 1,776 |
| 23 | Francisco Cerundolo | Argentina | 1,610 |
| 24 | Cameron Norrie | Great Britain | 1,595 |
| 25 | Tommy Paul | USA | 1,595 |
| 26 | Frances Tiafoe | USA | 1,555 |
And the Spaniard only has 200 points to defend on grass, giving him a real chance to climb the rankings with some strong performances.
Points Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will defend on grass
- Eastbourne SF – 100 points
- Wimbledon 3R – 100 points
- Total – 200 points
The question is: Who will he hire as coach for the grass-court season?
If he makes the right call, there is every chance Davidovich Fokina starts making headlines for the right reasons over the coming months!
