(Video) ‘Lucky’ Alex de Minaur Consoles Heartbroken Alejandro Davidovich Fokina After Thrilling Citi Open Final

Alex de Minaur has improved his head-to-head lead over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to 3-2 after the Citi Open win.

(Video) ‘Lucky’ Alex de Minaur Consoles Heartbroken Alejandro Davidovich Fokina After Thrilling Citi Open Final

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina broke down into tears after losing the Citi Open final to Alex de Minaur (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, We Are Tennis, Tennis TV)

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Alex de Minaur did not lift his career’s 10th singles title without toiling for hours on Sunday in the Citi Open final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Aussie was on the verge of losing but eventually wrapped up the Citi Open in his favor with a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3) scoreline, but not before saving three championship points.

After his defeat, the Spaniard sat on his bench, buried his head in his towel, and wept. De Minaur showed great sportsmanship as he tried hard to console him.

Here’s the video:

Alejandro, you’re way too good not to have one of these; it’s coming for sure. You deserved it today, I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor, hell of a player. No one on the tour wants to play you. And this is not the end, this is only going on for you.

Alex de Minaur said during the trophy presentation

Before this tournament, the World No.19 came close to winning his career’s first singles title at the Delray Beach Open this February against Miomir Kecmanovic, but he ended up losing the match after squandering two championship points. The next month, he lost to Tomas Machac in the Mexican Open final.

He deserved the win, he was fighting every f*****g ball, he was always pushing through my limits. We had a job to do before we started the year, to be at the middle of the year in the top 20. This week we did it, just not with the trophy. But for sure, we will keep going, pushing our limits, pushing harder.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina said during the trophy presentation

With this win, the former World No.6 broke the head-to-head tie and took a 3-2 lead. It was their first meeting since the 2023 Canadian Open.

Katie Boulter reacts to Alex de Minaur’s Citi Open win

Alex de Minaur‘s fiancee, Katie Boulter, the WTA World No.43, swelled with pride after he lifted his first Citi Open title. Boulter also played in Washington, but her campaign ended when she suffered an opening-round defeat at the hands of Maria Sakkari.

Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur (Image via X/AUS Olympic Team)

While Boulter hasn’t yet reached a final this season, de Minaur has so far played two finals. Before Washington, he had advanced to the summit clash of the Rotterdam Open but was unsuccessful in defeating five-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.

No words, pure madness. The man you are, the champion you are. I’m in awe.

Katie Boulter wrote on her Instagram story

Check out her post here:

Katie Boulter's Instagram story
Katie Boulter’s Instagram story

Boulter will next be participating in the Canadian Open, where she will kick-start her campaign against Renata Zarazua. De Minaur, too, will be playing the Masters 1000 in Toronto. He came close to lifting the Canadian Masters in 2023 but failed to cross the final hurdle in the form of World No.1 Jannik Sinner.

Last year on the North American hard-court swing, De Minaur skipped the three warm-up hard-court tournaments before the US Open, where Jack Draper ended his run in the quarterfinals. The 26-year-old hasn’t yet progressed beyond the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event, reaching the stage at Flushing Meadows twice (in 2020 and 2024).

Alex de Minaur returns to the top 10

De Minaur, who had reached three finals and lifted two titles last year- which helped him reach his career-best No.6 in the rankings- has climbed five places up to occupy the eighth position on the rankings table after his Citi Open triumph.

Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur (Image via X/The Tennis Podcast)

If he ends up winning the Canadian Open, he could remove 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic from the sixth spot. The Serb, who last played the Canadian Open in 2018, has decided to skip it this year as well.

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