I want to dedicate this victory to my whole team, my family, my wife. It was not easy.
Davydovich Fokina dedicated the title to those who supported him for a long time.
“This performance is not easy, I was three months old (two, editor’s note) one and a half of tournaments. I got injured, he said, I want to dedicate this victory to my whole team, my family, my wife. It was not easy. Been home for two months and I’m very proactive. So you can imagine how that might be. But we worked hard to come back stronger.”
He also enjoyed his first visit to the city. “I saw pandas here for the first time. I enjoyed a lot here in Chengdu. It was sunny for the first time today.”
The world number 28 won all 11 of his service games and saved the only break point he faced. He landed 77 percent of his first serves and won 87 percent of those points (46 of 53). Hurkac, ranked 41st, hit 17 aces to his opponent’s eight and saved five of six break points. The loser decided the first set, and the second went to a tie-break, which the Spaniard won 9-7.
Davidovich Fokina now leads them 5-2. He reached the final against Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, Alexander Muller of France 6-1, 7-5 and Juan Manuel Cherundolo of Argentina 6-4, 6-4.
Hurkac, chasing his ninth title and his first since Estoril in 2024, had won four games to reach the final. He beat Canadian No. 7 Denis Shapovalov 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3, South African qualifier Lloyd Harris 7-6 (10), 6-4, American Martin Damm 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko 6-3 (6-3, 7).
