Alejandro Davidovich Fokina takes Madrid wild card for Masters 1000 debut
Born to the Russian mother and Swedish father, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is not the usual Spanish player by any means. The 19-year-old who works under Jorge Aguirre is a former junior no. 2 and 2017 Wimbledon champion (the first one from Spain since 1967), winning more big titles and battling against Nicola Kuhn, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexei Popyrin, Miomir Kecmanovic, Felix Auger-Aliassime and others. Alejandro lost two Futures finals just before that historic Wimbledon run and claimed the first pro title in March last year, advancing into the first Challenger final in September in Szczecin, ranked 400th!
Due to an injury, the youngster made a slow start of 2019 season, finding the right form in February when he reached the final of Bangkok Challenger, building the momentum for the clay season. After the semi-final run in Marbella Challenger, Alejandro qualified for the main draw in Marrakech to make an ATP debut, losing in two tight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber after almost two hours. After failing to earn the main draw in Barcelona, Davidovich Fokina got the second chance in Estoril as a lucky loser, using it with both hands to grab wins over Taylor Fritz and Jeremy Chardy (losing only three games) to book the place in the first ATP quarter-final.
Before the clash against Gael Monfils, Alejandro learned more good news from home, receiving the main draw wild card for Madrid Open after the withdrawal of Tomas Berdych. Thus, instead of hitting another qualifying draw, Alejandro will have the opportunity to make Masters 1000 debut in front of the home fans and extend his good run from Portugal. Equipped with unorthodox shots and not fitting in the regular Spanish baseline mold, Davidovich Fokina should be a tough rival for all the players in the draw, eager to show his best tennis at the biggest tennis event in Spain.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2VN9yTS
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