Alejandro Davidovich Fokina insisted he had no regrets despite an ill-advised underarm serve virtually handing victory to Holger Rune in their third-round clash at Wimbledon.
The Spaniard had let an 8-5 lead slip in the deciding first-to-10-point tie-break when, at 8-8, he decided to pull out an underarm serve, which sixth seed Rune easily put away before clinching a 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-4 7-6 (8) win on the next point.
Davidovich Fokina was unrepentant, though, calling the shot simply “another serve”. Asked if he would make the same decision again, he added: “Why not?”
The 24-year-old, who is ranked 34, insisted he would look back on the match positively, saying: “I won’t regret anything.
“I’m happy for this match that I did because I was struggling on grass and how I played today I convinced myself that I have a lot of things in myself.”
It is the third time in his last five matches at Wimbledon that Davidovich Fokina has shot himself in the foot with highly questionable decisions.
In a first-round meeting with Hubert Hurkacz 12 months ago, he was 40-0 up serving for the match in the third set when he tried an unnecessary tweener.
Davidovich Fokina did eventually come through that one in a deciding fifth-set tie-break only to lose to Jiri Vesely in another tie-break in the second round when he smashed a ball out of the court while match point down and was given a point penalty.
Rune has had plenty of dramatic moments in grand slams himself this season and has now played a match tie-break at each event – losing to Andrey Rublev in Australia before beating Francisco Cerundolo in Paris.
He certainly was not complaining about Davidovich Fokina’s moment of madness, saying: “I was not expecting for sure that that was going to come.
“Actually it was nice because he was serving unbelievable so I was like, ‘OK’, it was a chance to get a match point. I had to be fast with the feet. Wow, what a match.”
Rune next faces either Frances Tiafoe or Grigor Dimitrov, who was leading by two sets to love when rain forced an early end to the day’s play on the outside courts.
Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid Open quarter-finals
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid quarter-finals
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Nadal goes the distance to reach Madrid Open last 16
Rafael Nadal battled to victory over three hours on the court against Pedro Cachin at the Madrid Open on Monday to seal a 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win to reach the last 16.
The former world number one looked back to his best as he cruised through the opening set but was pushed hard in the second by Cachin.
Nadal came from behind to level at 5-5, but Cachin eventually sealed the set on his third set point.
The Spaniard then rallied in the third set, cutting down on his errors to regain control and advance to the fourth round at a tour-level event for the first time since 2022.
Nadal is one step away from booking his place in a 10th consecutive quarter-final in Madrid and will face Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday in the next round after the 30th seed overcame Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in two sets.
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