Alex de Minaur beats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in epic Washington DC Open final

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Australia's Alex de Minaur has won an epic Washington DC Open final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, claiming his 10th singles title 7-3 in the final-set tiebreak.

The 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3) victory gave de Minaur his first championship of 2025, and denied Davidovich Fokina his maiden title.

Coming off the disappointment of another impressive grand slam campaign at Wimbledon ending in comprehensive defeat, de Minaur showed all his shot-making, athleticism and grit in the three-hour, three-minute win.

He etches his name alongside Tony Roche (1971), Ken Rosewall (1972), Lleyton Hewitt (2004) and Nick Kyrgios (2019, 2022) as Australian winners in the US capital.

It also propels the 26-year-old back into the top 10 after a brief absence, as the tour ramps up towards the US Open.

De Minaur was favoured against his 26th-ranked opponent, but it was clear from the outset he would not have it all his own way as Davidovich Fokina produced some stirring shots to win the first set in over an hour.

The Australian number one hit back by tearing through the second set 6-1, before being broken in the fourth game of the decider as Davidovich Fokina jumped out to 4-1 and 5-2 leads.

The 26-year-old served for the match at 5-3 and looked set for his first championship since turning pro in 2017 as he skipped to 30-0, before de Minaur battled back with four straight points to get back on serve.

Down 15-30 on his serve, de Minaur framed a low volley that snuck over the net and out of his opponent's reach before the pair carried on to the first of six deuces in what turned out to be a 10-minute game, during which de Minaur fought off three match points.

Both players overcame any jangling nerves with successive clutch service holds to send the match to a tiebreak.

De Minaur got the early mini break to jump out to a 2-0 lead, before being reeled back in to 2-2, only to poke his nose back out in front at 4-2.

Davidovich Fokina stayed in it with de Minaur's unforced error to keep it on serve, but the Australian rattled off three straight points to close out the match and win a thrilling decider with an ace.

De Minaur launched a ball into the stands, let out a primal scream and punched the air before shaking hands at the net with a clearly emotional Davidovich Fokina, who then slumped in his chair and buried his face on his towel.

De Minaur, who played junior tennis in Spain while living there as a teenager, sat with Davidovich Fokina and put his arm around the Malaga native who looked utterly crestfallen having fallen short in a final for the third time this year.

"You're way too good to not have one of these; it's coming for sure. You deserved it today, I just got lucky," the Australian said in the trophy presentation.

"You are a hell of a competitor, hell of a player. No-one on the tour wants to play you. This is not the end, this is only going up for you."

On the women's side, 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez had a much easier time of it, brushing aside Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour.

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