Alex de Minaur admits he “got lucky” after he saved three championship points to claw his way to his first title of the year, winning the Washington Open final at the second time of asking.
The Australian men’s No.1 fought gallantly to claim an enthralling contest in the US capital over fellow 26-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5-7 6-1 7-6 (7-3), in just over three hours.
A workman-like tiebreaker capped off a week full of positives, and 10th career title, for de Minaur ahead of next month’s US Open in New York, while Spaniard Davidovich Fokina fell just short of claiming his first ATP Tour title.
De Minaur, who lost in straight sets to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the 2018 Washington final, improved to a tour-leading 22 hard-court wins for the season.
The seventh seed consoled his devastated rival after the defeat and during the presentation ceremony told him that his maiden trophy wasn’t far away.
Davidovich Fokina missed out on two championship points in Delray Beach this February and lost the Acapulco final in March.
“You’re way to good to not have one of these (trophies). It’s coming for sure,” de Minaur said to his opponent.
“You deserved it today. I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor, a hell of a player. No one on the tour wants to play you. This is not the end, this is only going up for you.”
The Spanish 12th seed was broken early in the opening set but responded immediately for 2-2. He gained the advantage again in the 11th game before serving it out.
It lit a fire under the Aussie, who raced through the second set in just 36 minutes, winning 6-1.
But de Minaur dropped serve to trail 4-1 in the decider, before breaking back when Davidovich Fokina was serving for the title at 5-4.
He scrambled from 0-30 and on his opponent’s third match point a desperate lob clipped the sideline and helped de Minaur turn the point and final around.
De Minaur will return to world No.8 on the back of reaching the final.
“It’s something about this court. I did it in 2018 … and honestly, I just kind of knew I could do it,” said the Aussie, who saved four match points against Andrey Rublev that year but lost in the decider.
“I just backed myself and I told myself to commit no matter what and if I lost this match it was going to be on my terms. Today it went my way. I’ve had a couple of brutal ones not go my way, so I’m glad this one went my way.”
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