WASHINGTON — Alex de Minaur let out all of the emotion pent up inside of him. He reared back and fired an ace that put the finishing touches on a 3-hour, 3-minute marathon men’s singles final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
Shortly after, the 26-year-old from Australia launched a ball off his racket high above the flags outlining the top of the main stadium at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. His armband followed.
De Minaur, seeded seventh and ranked No. 13 in the world, outlasted Davidovich Fokina, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (3), to capture his 10th career Association of Tennis Professionals Tour title, first of 2025 and eighth on hard court.
“In that immediate moment, it’s just relief,” de Minaur said. “I have had some tough losses this year, 7-6 in the third, and kind of just felt like it was a huge weight off my back. And the way I played that tiebreak, I committed to my shots, I went after it. Yeah, it’s just a sense of relief, proud of the way I have been dealing with my emotions and feelings on and off the court. I have put in a lot of work on that. It’s amazing to see the rewards so soon. It means I’m definitely doing something right.”
Initially delayed 50 minutes because of thunderstorms, fans in the 7,500-seat main stadium were treated to a show as de Minaur rallied a 5-2 deficit in the third set to win. He held serve twice and held on to win a nine-minute game that featured six deuces and three match points for Davidovich Fokina. On one of those match points, de Minaur was particularly clutch. He got just enough on an outstretched defensive backhand lob that clipped the line. Two shots later, he sprinted forward for a cross-court backhand winner that electrified the crowd.
“There were some very tough moments out there,” de Minaur said. “But it was a weird feeling and sensation because I felt like I had already been in that position. I was thinking about 2018, semifinals match against [Andrey] Rublev on that same court where I fought some match points by being aggressive and committing to hitting the ball.”
While Davidovich Fokina, of Spain, continued to double over in the late stages of the match, de Minaur only elevated his play. Davidovich Fokina played a three-hour match on Friday night against Taylor Fritz, and the lingering effects were evident.
Seven years ago, de Minaur made one of his first ATP finals appearances in Washington at 19 years old and lost in straight sets to Alexander Zverev. Since then, he’s become one of the tour’s most consistent players and is orchestrating one of the strongest seasons of his career in 2025.
De Minaur entered Sunday with 34 ATP Tour wins on the season, third most behind Zverev and world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. De Minaur also is just one of four players to reach multiple ATP 500 finals this year, joining Alcaraz, Davidovich Fokina and 10th-ranked Rublev.
De Minaur, who will return to the top 10 with the victory, won’t have long to enjoy it. He heads to Toronto for another hard-court event, where he is the No. 9 seed in a stacked field.
De Minaur sat next to Davidovich Fokina after the match, attempting to console him and offer words of encouragement. De Minaur has undergone his share of tough defeats throughout his career and did his best to mitigate the sting of the loss. However, he knows words can only do so much and is aware of the jubilation of victory, but also the agony of defeat.
“Something I have learned over the past couple of years is that these moments are very hard to come by, and there’s a lot of effort and sacrifice that goes into it,” de Minaur said. “So, tonight, I’ll be enjoying a glass of wine with the team, acknowledging an incredible week. Then tomorrow I will be flying to Toronto and probably practicing in the afternoon and getting ready for another week because the tennis world doesn’t stop. And, yeah, there’s no rest for the wicked.”
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