{"id":107816,"date":"2026-04-25T12:01:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T11:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/?p=107816"},"modified":"2026-04-25T14:59:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T13:59:03","slug":"davidovich-passes-his-baptism-of-fire-on-clay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/davidovich-passes-his-baptism-of-fire-on-clay\/","title":{"rendered":"Davidovich passes his baptism of fire on clay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is one of the most hotly-anticipated players at the Mutua Madrid Open, where his local status makes him one of the stars of the tournament. The Andalusian began his assault on the Caja Magica on Saturday under intense scrutiny, which he came through by defeating Pablo Carre\u00f1o Busta 6-3, 6-3 in their first encounter on tour.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">Naturally, the Malaga native\u2019s opener was eagerly awaited by the Spanish fans. After missing the Monte Carlo and Barcelona events due to an abdominal injury, Davidovich Fokina began his clay court swing with a brave performance in Madrid, unfazed by the most intimidating court at the Madrid Masters 1000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">\u201cI arrived without expectations, I need to see where my level is\u201d, admitted Davidovich. \u201cThe more matches I play, the more rhythm I\u2019ll have built up. If I lose in the next round, I\u2019ll have to try to improve it in Rome. I\u2019m feeling good on court, I\u2019m motivated. Physically and mentally I\u2019m well. Getting back to my level is just a matter of time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">The No. 24 in the PIF ATP Rankings arrived in Madrid with a solid team in his corner that includes Pepo Clavet and Fernando Verdasco. The synergy of that group enabled the Andalusian to freewheel in the Caja Magica, where his energetic brand of tennis could be enough to ask questions of some of the heavyweights in the draw.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">Davidovich is looking to regain the competitiveness he has historically shown at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he has been a tough nut to crack in recent years. The Malaga native, who was just four points away from beating two-time champion Alexander Zverev in last year\u2019s tournament, is starting to find his rhythm in the Spanish capital.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">Whatever happens next, Alejandro\u2019s week promises to be a roller-coaster as his route through the draw is packed with stars. The Andalusian will play in the third round against Norwegian Casper Ruud, the reigning champion of the tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">\u201cCasper has a higher ranking and I\u2019ll be able to see where my level is on clay. Just because he\u2019s the reigning champion it doesn\u2019t mean he will win it again\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">On his return to the tour, Davidovich is one of the most experienced players without an ATP Tour trophy to his name. With a record of 0-5 in singles finals, the Spaniard is not putting himself under pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">\u201cIt\u2019s a goal for me, as it is for any player. If I keep working hard, I\u2019ll get my chances. When I have that opportunity again, I\u2019ll try to learn from my mistakes. I have to try to get that title, even though I think it\u2019s still a long way off\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(33, 33, 33)\">Meanwhile, as one of the main attractions in the Caja Magica, Davidovich Fokina is looking to keep his foot down.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is one of the most hotly-anticipated players at the Mutua Madrid Open, where his local status makes him one of the stars of the tournament. The Andalusian began his assault on the Caja Magica on Saturday under intense scrutiny, which he came through by defeating Pablo Carre\u00f1o Busta 6-3, 6-3 in their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":107736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[837,838],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias-tenis-en","category-noticias-tenis-masculino-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107817,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107816\/revisions\/107817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}