Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beats Valentin Vacherot as title bid increases in Adelaide | ATP tour | Tennis

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Davidovich Fokina beats Vacherot as title bid increases in Adelaide

The top seed faces Humbert next; Paul, Machac set up SF clash
January 15, 2026

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina continued his quest for a first ATP Tour title on Thursday evening at the Adelaide International, where he reached the semi-finals.

The 26-year-old Spaniard produced a series of stunning corners and winners to beat reigning Shanghai champion Valentin Vacherot 7-6(4), 6-2. Davidovich Fokina, who has reached five ATP Tour finals – including two in which he earned championship points in 2025 – seizes the opportunity in Adelaide, competing as the top seed for the first time in his career.

“I knew his serve was great,” Davidovich Fokina said of Vacherot, who hit 15 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats. “I did my best to return his serve… It was like playing against him [John] Isner. The key was to be focused and me [have] My level improved every match.”

On roll! 💪@alexdavidovich1 knocks out Vacherot in straight sets to reach Adelaide semi-finals!@AdelaideTennis | #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/sXOzB1Dn7g

— ATP tour (@atptour) January 15, 2026

In his twelfth semi-final, Davidovich Fokina takes on fourth seed Ugo Humbert, who fired 32 winners on his way to defeating qualifier Alexander Shevchenko 6-0, 6-3 in just 57 minutes.

Earlier, second seed Tommy Paul continued his impressive form in Adelaide by beating Australian Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2 to reach his third semi-final at the ATP 250 event. Paul, the former No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, missed the final three months of the 2025 season due to a lingering foot injury and returned to Brisbane last week, falling in the first round to big man Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

“I’m just happy to be here again. It’s been a long end to the year for me, and to be back in Australia and playing great tennis, I’m really happy,” said Paul, who also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2023. “All the tournaments in Australia do a good job of keeping most courses at the same speed, and they seem to suit my game.”

Paul will next face Tomas Machac, who defeated Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-4 to advance to his first semi-final since winning his only ATP Tour title in Acapulco last February. The eighth-seeded Czech takes a 2-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead into his clash with Paul, who won their most recent meeting in Rome last year.

Machac arrived in Adelaide having not won a tour-level match since his opening match in Shanghai in October, but is yet to drop a set this week after three dominant victories.