Davidovich Fokina wins battle against Taylor Fritz in Monte-Carlo

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is through to his maiden semifinals at an ATP 1000 event after defeating Taylor Fritz 2-6 6-4 6-3.

The Spaniard loves playing in Monaco and he proved it last year when he made a run to the quarterfinals where injury forced him to retire against Tsitsipas. He was considered the favourite against Frit heading into this matchup yet the American was more solid at the start. Fokina simply could not find a proper rhythm and Fritz raced to a 6-2 1st set finish.

The American started to look a bit sluggish in the 2nd set but he was still controlling the match rather well. The Spaniard was seeing more looks but also getting more increasingly frustrated because he failed to use them. Eventually, he did find a pretty solid rhythm and he was able to break Fritz very late in the set. He then closed it out with 6-4 after saving three break points in that game.

Fritz took a medical timeout for an abdominal issue but he continued on the match. His step was still looking quite slow and it slowed down even further as the match went on. The American was clearly tired after playing some long matches in the previous days as well as playing the doubles. Fokina was able to control the points better and Fritz was trying to shorten them.

It's not a viable strategy on clay and started making errors quite often. Fokina took a 2-1 lead but gave it right back. Fritz held for a 3-2 lead but that was it from him. The Spaniard started playing even better and he reeled off four consecutive games to finish it off with 6-3.