Alex de Minaur collected himself from a set of Down and saved three championship points on the way to a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final of the DC Open on Sunday.
The Minaur, a 26-year-old Australian who was sown seventh for the tournament, earned his 10th ATP title and eighth on hard courts. He was the second place of Alexander Zverev in Washington in 2018 and will enter the top 10 in the world ranking prior to the US Open next month.
Davidovich Fokina, the No. 12 Seed, dropped to 0-4 for his career in the final, despite leading 5-2 in the third set Sunday and repeatedly only one point of victory was. This was his second time that several match points this year cried in a tournament -final.
The 26-year-old Spaniard entered the week at number 26 and will make his debut in the Top 20 on Monday; He remains the highest ranked man without title.
“Alejandro, you are way too good to have none of these, it will certainly come,” said the Minaur during the ceremony on the field, gestures to the trophy. “You earned it today, I was just lucky. You are a great competitor, a hell of a player. Nobody on the Tour wants to play.”
After their game, the Minaur ran over and sat next to Davidovich Fokina and comforted him after the hard -fought loss.
“I want to say Alex congratulations. He deserved the victory. He fought every F — ING Ball,” said Davidovich Fokina. “He always pushed through my limits.”
Davidovich Fokina remembered that he needed a wildcard last year to play in the American capital and was delighted to have guaranteed at least an increase in a career-high number 19 ranking.
“We had a job before we started the year to be in the top 20 in the middle of the year,” he said. “This week we did it, just not with the trophy. But sure, we will continue, push our boundaries, push harder.”
The Associated Press and Reuters have contributed to this report.
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