A matchup between two combustible characters who are both in great form was always going to be circus.
And the third-round showdown at the Mutua Madrid Open between Holger Rune and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina certainly did not disappoint.
It had injury timeouts, jeering from the crowd, and plenty of scintillating tennis over the course of three hours and five minutes before Davidovich Fokina prevailed 7-6(1), 5-7, 7-6(5) past 1:00 in the morning. The Spaniard came back from a break down early in the third set, failed to serve out the match at 5-3,
and finally prevailed in a tiebreaker with a backhand passing shot at 6-5.
Davidovich Fokina took a medical timeout for a leg issue late in the third, prior to which Rune needed attention for his right wrist. The 19-year-old Dane mixed it up with the Spanish fans, too, just as he did with a pro-Italian crowd during a recent Monte-Carlo thriller against Jannik Sinner.
“Mentally and physically it was very hard,” Davidovich Fokina assured. “Rune is a very good player. It was always tough games and we had to stay focussed on every service, because you never know when you [can] have the break point. I had my chances in the third set, too, but I had a lot of tension and I was a little bit anxious to finish the point. But I did well and I’m very happy.
“I felt that energy and I was like, ‘OK, I don’t want to go home. I want to win this game. It doesn’t matter if I am cramping; it doesn’t matter if I have a lot of tension. I want to win this match.”
Next up for the world No. 35 is Borna Coric, who ousted Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets.
nice one, ADF