Five things to know about Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
After Alejandro Davidovich Fokina shocked world number one Novak Djokovic and went on to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final, Tennishead finds all you need to know about the hard-hitting youngster.
The 22-year-old Spaniard reached his first Masters 1000 final on the hallowed clay of the Monte Carlo Country Club.
Here, Tennishead gives you five things you should know about Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
1) Background
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was born in Rincón de la Victoria, Spain, a short 10km from Malaga on 5th June 1999.
His father, Edvard, was a boxer, apparently passing on his athleticism to Alejandro.
2) A promising youngster
Alejandro reached a high of world number two in the ITF junior rankings in July 2017 at the age of 18.
He played in five junior Slams between 2016 and 2017, making appearances at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
He reached the third round of the boys’ singles at the 2016 US Open, losing to eventual champion Felix Auger-Aliassime.
In the boys’ singles at Roland Garros 2017, Davidovich Fokina reached the semi-finals before falling to Alexei Popyrin, the Australian going on to win the title.
Finally, at Wimbledon 2017, the Spaniard won the boys’ singles without dropping a set, defeating Argentina’s Axel Geller in the final to reach his junior ranking high of second.
3) An exclusive club
As mentioned, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s appearance in the Monte Carlo final was his first at Masters 1000 level.
In fact, the Monte Carlo final was the Spaniard’s first final of any kind at ATP tour level.
That makes him one of just three players to make his first ATP final at Masters 1000 level.
The first two were both Serbian and one of them also achieved the feat in Monte Carlo.
Filip Krajinovic reached the final of the 2017 Paris Masters, as a qualifier no less, but lost to Jack Sock.
Then, at the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters, Dusan Lajovic reached the final before he lost to Fabio Fognini.
Unfortunately for Davidovich Fokina, he experienced the same fate as Lajovic and Krajinovic by losing the final.
Nevertheless his Monte Carlo run was impressive and will no doubt remain memorable for the Spaniard and fans alike.
4) A softer side off court
In competition, Davidovich Fokina is known for his fiery and boisterous play and demeanour.
But off the court, the rising star has a passion for rehoming abandoned pets.
In April 2021, he launched a pet adoption platform called Adoptas.org.
The platform connects animal lovers with pet shelters across Spain in the hope that left behind pets can find a loving home.
He said, according to AFP: “For me, they are not toys. When I see a video of animals abandoned, I almost cry,”
5) A dual sport future?
Unusually, Davidovich Fokina has drawn plenty of attention in Monte Carlo for his commitment to hitting every ball, no matter how far out of reach.
As such, even on the clay, the Spaniard has embraced his inner Boris Becker and thrown himself diving at shots, even metres behind the baseline.
‘This is cinema.’ – Martin Scorsese@alexdavidovich1 #RolexMCMasters pic.twitter.com/ltj61AbQs5
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 12, 2022
The 22-year-old has already appeared at an Olympic Games, reaching the third round of the singles at Tokyo 2020 before losing to Djokovic.
Given his diving prowess, perhaps at Paris 2024 the Spaniard can double up for gold on the clay of Roland Garros and off the board!
Tokyo 2020 ??? pic.twitter.com/o6tEaN592G
— FOKI (@alexdavidovich1) July 19, 2021
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