This DC Open’s lasting image: A crushing loss and a moment of sportsmanship

This DC Open’s lasting image: A crushing loss and a moment of sportsmanship

The trophies were wheeled out on the court, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina couldn’t take the towel off his head.

He crouched on his bench seat, holding his head in his hands, for several minutes Sunday night as DC Open officials gathered on the court. Eventually, he slid off the bench and to the ground.

The Spaniard sat alone for several minutes more after Australia’s Alex de Minaur prevailed, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), for the men’s singles title. Not long after that, de Minaur walked over and sat next to him, putting his arm around the teary-eyed 26-year-old who had dropped three championship points.

“I feel for him,” the 13th-ranked de Minaur said. “Nothing I could say in that moment was going to make the situation better. I just wanted to let him know how good of a player he is.”

The two have known each other since they were kids, Davidovich Fokina said, and de Minaur was there to console him after his latest chance to claim his first ATP Tour title slipped away.

How could this have happened again?

“Another day, another unlucky day, but I’m happy how I played,” Davidovich Fokina said. “... And, well, I will continue to work harder to have the trophy.”

In February, the 26th-ranked Davidovich Fokina reached the final of the Delray Beach Open. Twice, he had championship point. Twice, he couldn’t convert — and he went on to lose. Later that month, he dropped another final, this one at Acapulco. That sent him to 0-3 in ATP Tour finals in his career.

Davidovich Fokina during the trophy ceremony

De Minaur during the trophy ceremony

On Sunday, Davidovich Fokina reached championship point three times in the 10th game of the third set but lost them all. That marathon game, full of stunning rallies, surely was the most painful moment for Davidovich Fokina, who said afterward that he didn’t remember much about the final set.

Despite the loss, Davidovich Fokina will join the top 20 for the first time Monday. He has beaten five top-10 players this season, including American stars Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton in D.C. He remains the highest-ranked men’s player without a title.

“Well, thinking right now, [it’s] not easy,” Davidovich Fokina said of his new ranking. “I’m happy that I’m top 20, but the goal today was to lift the trophy.”

“You’re way too good not to have one of these,” de Minaur told Davidovich Fokina during the on-court trophy presentation.

After Sunday’s win, de Minaur will move back into the top 10. It is his 10th ATP title and his first in Washington; he lost in the final in 2018.

The match swung in the third set, when Davidovich Fokina double-faulted while up 5-3. He went on to lose that game, and the game that followed was even more painful. He had been so close to breaking through so many times. An emotional match eventually became too much, and de Minaur prevailed in the tiebreaker.

De Minaur and Davidovich Fokina entered Sunday with the third- and fourth-most wins on tour this season. The top two: Carlos Alcaraz, who has five titles this year, and Alexander Zverev, who has one. De Minaur and Davidovich Fokina had none.

Somebody had to claim his first title of 2025 on Sunday night. Somehow, it wasn’t Davidovich Fokina.

Bolelli, Vavassori win doubles

A nearly two-hour weather delay couldn’t derail top-seeded Italy’s Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, who cruised to the men’s doubles title, 6-3, 6-4, over Monaco’s Hugo Nys and France’s Édouard Roger-Vasselin. The match began on the Stadium court but was moved to John Harris Court after a lightning stoppage, allowing the women’s final to begin.

Bolelli and Vavassori are the first Italian doubles champions in tournament history. They lost just two sets in the tournament.