Washington [US], July 28 : Alex de Minaur defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to secure his 10th tour-level title in the early hours of Monday.
De Minaur, currently the world number eight, beat Fokina 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3), with the Aussie saving three championship points in the final set. He was inches away from a loss, but a desperate lob that clipped the sideline turned the tables for the better and came out victorious.
Speaking about the win as quoted by ATP's official website, he said, "It is something about this court. I did it in 2018 against Rublev, and honestly, I just kind of knew I could do it."
Back in 2018, at 19, during the same tournament, de Minaur saved four match points against Rublev, but lost to Alexander Zverev in the title clash.
"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 have had a couple of brutal ones not go my way, so I am glad this one went my way," he added.
For Fokina, it was a massive loss as he was aiming for his maiden ATP Tour title and missed out on two championship points this February at Delray Beach against Miomir Kecmanovic and lost the Acapulco final to Tomas Machac in March.
Speaking to his opponent and acknowledging his fine run, De Minaur said, "You are way too good not to have one of these [trophies]. It is coming for sure. 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."
With this win, De Minaur's head-to-head record against Fokina improves to three wins and two losses, with their first meeting back in 2019 during the Next Gen ATP Finals.