So close yet so far! Yes, that’s how the 2025 season has been for the 26-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. After failing to clinch the title on the previous two occasions (Delray Beach Open and Mexican Open), despite reaching the finals, Fokina was keen to deliver at the 2025 Citi Open. He defeated the likes of Top 10 opponents Taylor Fritz (QF) and Ben Shelton (SF) to face Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the final. However, despite a hard-fought battle, Fokina faces yet another massive disappointment.

Alex de Minaur defeated him by 5-7,6-1,7-6(3). He stole the victory right from the jaws of defeat. The Aussie saved three match points to secure his 10th tour-level singles title. However, not only did De Minaur win the match, but he also later managed to win the hearts of several tennis fans with a beautiful gesture towards his opponent. How?

After this heated do-or-die contest, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was literally shattered and was also seen in tears while he was sitting on the bench at the courtside. Seeing Fokina buried his face in his towel, Alex de Minaur stepped in and wrapped an arm around his opponent, and also gave him a few words of encouragement to lift his spirits up for what’s coming next for the Spaniard. Seeing Fokina face yet another setback in this season, renowned tennis legend, Jose Morgado tweeted, “Alejandro Davidovich Fokina keeps his status of best player in the world that never won a tour-level title. Just like in Delray, he was 5-2 up in the 3rd and had multiple match points. Absolutely BRUTAL.”

Later on, he even praised De Minaur for his wonderful gesture, “Beautiful. Well done, Demon.” Alex de Minaur may be mostly known for his fighting never-say-die attitude, but there have been several moments in the past as well, where his kind gestures and led the fans to hail him a true sportsman, and it’s not just about consoling his opponents after the match. But much more…

During the 2025 AO, we saw a couple of moments where Alex de Minaur got hailed for his classy act. For example, in his first round match against Botic van de Zandschulp, when he was about to serve for the second set, he noticed an irregularity in the balls he was given. A new ball had entered the rotation of balls prematurely, and this was more like a nice gift for a player who was about to serve for a two-set lead. However, De Minaur chose to address the issue with the chair umpire and inform him about the mixup.

Seeing this moment, Todd Woodbridge said, “Alex is actually showing some incredible sportsmanship there because he didn’t really have to tell Botic there was a brand new ball there.” John Millman also added, “Not just that, he said he will not serve with this new ball in this game. He’s given it back to the umpire. That is incredible sportsmanship because normally, as a server, you want the ball to be as new as possible.”

Alex de Minaur’s incredible sportsmanship has drawn praise quite a few times now. Even in his second-round match against America’s Tristan Boyel, he was seen paying a tribute to his opponent’s devastating family situation while sharing his deepest condolences to everyone affected by the fires in California.

Coming back to the 2025 Citi Open final, well, both players shared their thoughts on this epic battle after the match. What did Alex de Minaur say about Alejandro Davidovich Fokina this time?

Alex de Minaur heaps praise on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

This was their fifth meeting on the Tour, and Alex de Minaur has now got the better of the Spaniard three times in his career. He was the runner-up at this tournament in 2018. But this time, De Minaur not only secured a hefty $420,525 in prize money but also joined Aussie legends with his 10th career title. He is now the fourth Australian to record 10 career titles since the inception of the ATP Tour in 1990, joining the likes of Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, and Mark Philippoussis. Incredible!

Talking about his brilliance in this match, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was seen admitting, “I want to say congrats to Alex. He deserved the win. He was fighting every f—ing ball.” On one side, Alex de Minaur has risen up to number 8, but on the other, Fokina remains the highest-ranked man without a title!

What did De Minaur say after this incredible victory? Well, he started his speech saying, “I want to start with Alejandro, as I told you and your team, 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 and player. No one on the tour wants to play you.” Then he finished it off by saying, “This is not the end. It’s only going up for you.”

Although De Minaur has won 10 titles in his career so far, his best record at the Grand Slam has been reaching the QFs. He has failed to go past that in his previous attempts. Alex de Minaur will now be eyeing to make a deeper run at the 2025 US Open, which begins on August 24. But before that, he will be taking part in the Canadian Open. How far do you think he can reach there?