‘It’s a dream come true’ – Alejandro Davidovich Fokina reaches first Masters final in Monaco
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina said he was “so tight” during his battling win over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals in Monte Carlo, with a break between the second and third set helping him get over the finish line.
The Spaniard has had a fantastic Monte Carlo Masters, recording impressive wins over Indian Wells Masters Champion Taylor Fritz, former World number 7 David Goffin and world number one Novak Djokovic.
Now, the youngster has extended his excellent winning run as he claimed another hard-fought victory over world number 29 Dimitrov to reach his first ever Masters final.
The unseeded 22-year-old eventually saw off Dimitrov 6-4, (2), 6-7, 6-3 in two hours and 43 minutes to continue his remarkable week at the Monte Carlo Country Club, and will now go on to face defending champion and world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Davidovich Fokina looked set to wrap up the victory in just two sets, as despite going down an early break in the second, Fokina rattled off four straight games to give himself the chance to serve for the match at 5-4. However nerves seemed to impact his execution and performance as Dimitrov broke back and levelled the set at 5-5, eventually forcing a tie break.
Interestingly, a similar pattern arose in the third set as Dimitrov found an early break of serve, before the Spaniard once again roared back and held his nerve, taking six of the next seven games to storm to victory.
Reflecting on the match, his second set wobble and third set rejuvenation, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina believes that a certain moment between the second and first set was the key to him being able to swing the momentum back in his favour.
“When I was a kid I was dreaming about this day and it’s come true,” he said. “I’m so happy. In the second set I had my chances, I was so tight. But I went to the bathroom [after the second set] and I said to myself ‘I want this’.
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