Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina were involved in a heated exchange after their fourth round match at Wimbledon.
Auger-Aliassime beat Davidovich Fokina 6(4)-7, 7-6(6), 6-3, 6(2)-7, 6-1 to return to the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time since 2021.
This match contained some very entertaining points, but also a controversial moment after Davidovich Fokina took a medical timeout during Auger-Aliassime’s service game in the fourth set, before breaking back.
Auger-Aliassime eventually came through the match in a deciding fifth set, before Davidovich Fokina had some words for him after the handshake, for which former world number one Andy Roddick has now criticised the Spaniard.
Andy Roddick criticises Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s behaviour vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Roddick discussed this incident in the latest edition of his ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘ podcast, where he criticised Davidovich Fokina for his behaviour after taking a medical timeout for what appeared to be an ankle injury following a fall to the ground on No.1 Court.
The former US Open champion admitted he would have said something to Davidovich Fokina during the match, something that Auger-Aliassime did not do until after, with Roddick slamming the Spaniard for appearing annoyed with his opponent after the match.
“Davidovich-Fokina wins a point to go up 15-40 on FAA’s serve. It’s the middle of the game. He goes down again and I was going he might never walk again in his life. It was a lot,” began Roddick.
“Then he goes and gets treatment for maybe three minutes. FAA was in the middle of his service game for the match. 15-40. He comes back out and I was in the green room going ‘watch him double fault here, this is ridiculous’. It was a double. And then Davidovich-Fokina was fine.
“He remembered to limp a little bit in between points, but if you do that and even if you are actually really hurt and you have completely iced someone in the most insane way and you win the set there is still a guilt mechanism a little bit.
“But he was throwing two hands out up the crowd, doing the ear. Whatever you think about how it went down, I would have lost it if I was FAA. There is no chance I would not have said something. To his credit he did not, and I was thinking he is the nicest person I have ever known.
“Fast forward and FAA wins in five. Doesn’t say anything, gives him a hard handshake at the net, but nothing horrible. It looked like Davidovich-Fokina wanted to have a conversation but Felix gave him a handshake shiver and walked on.
“He turns around so obviously something was said to him. I mean, there’s no chance that Davidovich-Fokina can be p—— at FAA about anything he did.
“Let’s say that his ankle hurts and he made a miraculous recovery, there is still no chance he can be mad. FAA did exactly nothing wrong in this situation. Then to chirp at him when he is about to go and celebrate a win is bulls—-.”
Who do you think will win the Wimbledon quarter-final between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Novak Djokovic?
What do you think the score will be?
What has Felix Auger-Aliassime said about the incident with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina?
Unsurprisingly, Auger-Aliassime was asked about this incident in his press conference after beating Davidovich Fokina, but he did not want to go into the details about what was said between them.
However, the world number four did call for a rule change regarding medical timeouts, as Auger-Aliassime suggested that players should lose points if they are not able to be ready for points and then they can receive medical attention after the game has concluded.
“Well, the interactions between him and I, I don’t want to get into that. If he wants to come in here and talk about it, he can. But he knows my opinion,” said Auger-Aliassime.
“That’s one of these things that I have differences with people in my life on tour. They know what I think. That’s the most important.
“Now what I can say, though, is that I think the rule has to change. I think that obviously as long as the rule is like that, a player will use it to their advantage.
“I think that it’s very simple: if you’re hurt bad, or whatever you’re hurt, while the game’s going on of your opponent, in the middle of the game, the opponent is serving, the shot clock is on, basically when you’re hurt bad, you’re forfeiting every point until you can call the physio. If the physio helps you recover, you play your service game. If you’re hurt bad, then you retire, obviously.
“But to stop in the middle of an opponent’s service game and to be able to call the physio, I think that’s a disgrace of a rule. I don’t see any other sport where you can do that. I mark my words. It’s a disgrace of a rule. So that’s it.”
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
Auger-Aliassime will now look to put this incident behind him ahead of his quarter-final against seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.
This will be just a third meeting between Auger-Aliassime and Djokovic, with the head-to-head currently at one win apiece, and the first since 2022.
