Alejandro Davidovich Fokina perplexed fans once more with another questionable choice that cost him the match at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Davidovich Fokina has quite fond memories of Wimbledon as he won the event as a junior. The success from the juniors is yet to translate on the ATP Tour though he's not helping himself with some questionable choices.
The Spaniard is a very likable tennis player who has plenty of talent but also plays a very aggressive style that doesn't work all the time. If you're going to be an aggressive player you need to find a way of controlling it. Playing that way while being a very streaky player like Davidovich Fokina isn't the best and it's been the biggest problem for him preventing breaking out in a significant way.
His performances over the years certainly demonstrate that he could break out in a major way but he will need to find some consistency. Ironically, he's been showing it at this event though he was quite up and down against Holger Rune. Match points at 5-4 in the 5th set and an 8-5 lead in the match tiebreak weren't enough for him to win the match as Rune completed a comeback.
Part of his problem are some questionable choices he makes at the worst possible times. Last year we saw him crash out of Wimbledon in the silliest way possible. Down 7-8 in the match tiebreak, Fokina committed an error losing a point and giving his opponent a match point. He then slammed the ball getting a point penalty for ball abuse effectively losing himself the match.
He did a very similar thing this year as well. At 8-8 in the match tiebreak against Holger Rune, the Spaniard opted for an underarm serve which did surprise Rune but he reacted very well hitting a winner in response. The serve itself wasn't particularly great and it was certainly a very odd decision at a crucial time in the match.
Frustrated by that, Fokina slammed a forehand into the net in the next rally to lose the tiebreak 8-10 and the match 2-3. Rune was asked about the decision following the match and he admitted that he didn't expect it at all.
I was not expecting, for sure, that was gonna come. Actually, it was nice, because he was serving unbelievably. So I was like, here's a chance to get a match point. But again, I was not expecting it, so I had to be fast, but wow, what a match.
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