Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will chase his first ATP title in a career in Washngton. The Spaniard bested Ben Shelton 6-2, 7-5 in the semi-final in an hour and 19 minutes, advancing to his fourth ATP final and the third of the season.
Davidovich Fokinaleft the home star behind in the opening set and grabbed three straight games in the closing stages of the second set for a notable victory. Alejandro will crack the top-20 with these points, regardless of the final outcome.
The Spaniard is 8-0 against left-handers in 2025. He is also the fourth player with five top-10 victories this season, joining Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti on the exclusive list.
Ben could not produce the magic behind the initial shot from the previous matches. He served at 55% and dropped42% of the points in his games. The home player faced six break points and got broken four times.
Alejandro dropped 14 points in ten service games, suffering one break in the second set and outplaying his rival. They sprayed too many unforced errors. The Spaniard tamed his strokes more efficiently and bested the top-10 star from the baseline.
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They stayed neck and neck in the quickest exchange up to four strokes, and the lower-ranked player had the upper hand in the more advanced ones. Davidovich Fokina made a reliable start.
He served well in the opener and kept the pressure on the other side. Shelton sprayed a forehand error in the fifth game, losing serve and falling behind. The Spaniard cemented the lead with a forehand down the line winner in the next one.
A left-hander struggled again on serve in game seven and netted a forehand to experience another break and fall 5-2 behind. Alejandro landed an ace in the eighth game, wrapping up the opening set 6-2 in 27 minutes.
Ben played against a break point at 2-2 in the second set and saved it with a service winner. However, he played a loose drop shot two games later, losing serve and sending his rival 4-3in front.
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The Spaniard played his only loose service game in the next one, placing a forehand wide and losing serve to bring the home favorite back to the positive side.
Shelton sprayed a backhand error in the 11th game and got broken when his opponent painted a forehand down the line winner. Davidovich Fokina served for the win at 6-5 and fired a powerful serve for a hold at 15 and his fourth ATP final, the third of the season.
