Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – TennisReporters.net

US Open picks: Friday, Sept. 1

September 1, 2023 by Ron Cioffi

Caroline Wozniacki over Jennifer Brady
The former No. 1 Wozniacki played pretty well when she knocked off Petra Kvitova. Her backhand has always been excellent, and her returns were terrific. However, her forehand is pretty good, but not great, which is why she has only won more than one at a Grand Slam. Can she do it again? That would be a huge challenge.

Brady was very good for a long time , but in 2021, she got hurt, physically, and she could not play in the WTA for two years. That is very long. Before that, she made it in the semis at the 2020 U.S. Open,and in 2021, she reached into the 2022 Aussie Open. Yes, she was darn good. However, Brady still is trying to get back, physically and mentally. She does really like to crush the ball, but Wozniacki is more in control. The Dane will win it in two tough sets.

Karolina Muchova over Taylor Townsend
The Czech can look so good, when she is sprinting, and slap it back. Over the past three months, she reached the final at Roland Garros and Cincinnati. She didn’t win it, but she is right there. Muchova appears to be healthy again, so the American Townsend has to play great to upset her. She is quite good in the doubles, but in the singles, she has improved this year, but she has not beaten a lot of top 10 players. Yes, the veteran wants to show the fans that she is legitmatety very good, but to watch it, she is going have to play great. She will at times, but really, Muchova is a better player. She will win it in two basic sets.

Tommy Paul over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
This should be a terrific, wild match. The American Paul beat him in Miami in straight sets, but the Spaniard wants to play much better at the U.S. Open. At the Australian Open on the hardcourts, again, Paul edged him 6-4 in the fifth set. Davidovich Fokina pushed himself back, and Paul attacked him, with some excellent shots. His forehand is a little bit better, but Davidovich Fokina has a more consistent backhand. Paul is more comfortable at the net, while Davidovich Fokina likes to add some different shots.
They will have another long five sets, and once again, Paul will beat him again, 7-5.

Taylor Fritz over Jakub Mensik
The 17-year-old Mensik qualified, and he has played almost every week, going to a bunch of small events. However, the teenager can be pretty steady, and also, he is tall, so when he gets a chance, he can swing hard and try for a winner. He beat a number of juniors, but this time, he has to play substantially better to upset Fritz, who has gone deep in a lot of events. Fritz once won Indian Wells, but he has yet to go into the second week at the U.S. Open. The San Diego native really wants to, so he has to be super consistent. As he said, the American Andy Roddick won the title in 2003, but that was it. Will it be this time?

“We’ve all been hearing about who’s going to be the next American (after) Andy Roddick 20 years ago our entire careers. We all want it so bad,” said Fritz. “Hopefully it’ll be one of us soon.”
He will win it over Mensik in straight sets.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, caroline wozniaki, Jakub Mensik, Jennifer Brady, Karolina Muchova, Matthew Cronin, Taylor Fritz, Taylor Townsend, Tommy Paul, us open

In Canada: McDonald beats Raonic

August 10, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

This is the first time that Mackenzie McDonald has reached into the semis at the ATP 1000s in Toronto. On Thursday, he beat Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-3, who looked very good in his two matches, but then, he was a little bit flat, or he must have been to tired. But not the American, who had decided to win the match, and he had to really go for it. He looked very good, going cross court and down the line. McDonald can be very steady, but the reason why he has yet to crack into the top 45. Maybe he will, as long as he can add some strategic shots. He is 28-years-old, so this is a perfect time, on court, but you can pretend that you will survived, for years, but to go much further, he has to really push himself.

Another up and down competitor, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, won a very tough match, and the Spaniard outlasted Casper Ruud 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4). They will play each other in the quarters on Friday.

Davidovich Fokina is still pretty young, but he has also lost some super close matches, and he lost. When he is locked in, then he can bash his forehand and his backhand. He is pretty fast, running, and his first serve and his return is decent. Yes, he did reach into one final, period, at Monte-Carlo last year. Then, when he did, he would continue to build and finally, win a tournament. He still isn’t, yet. If you look at this year, he has lost five super closes against the top players. For example, at Wimbledon, he lost against Holger Rune 7-6(8) in the fifth set. That was brutal, but he eventually has to be more calm. If he going to win a tournament, he must be sealed in. Davidovich Fokina, will win the match, 7-6, 7-6.

Alex de Minaur beat Taylor Fritz 7-6 (7), 4-6 6-1. He will face Daniil Medvedev on Friday, another difficult match, The Aussie 24-year-old is also extremely good, when he is on, and just like the former two time champion, Lleyton Hewitt, he can be highly consistent, but not all the time. This time, he will have to grind it, as the Russian really thinks out there, many times. Medvedev will win it in two long sets.

Each week, Jessica Pegula can look very good, early on, and then after that, she has to decided whether she can be damn loyal, or swing harder. It is hard to tell whether this season, she will win an event. She did easily beat Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-0, which was impressive, but last week in Washington, she went down against Maria Sakkari. She will face Coco Gauff or Marketa Vondrousova on Friday. That will be very intense.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Alex de Minaur, Jessica Pegula, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, Toronto

TennisReporters.net’s top 32 in 2022: men 32-26

December 10, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

32. Tommy Paul
The American had a fine year, not because he is not in the top 10, but last year he was laboring. On court, he would attempt to grind it, but in order to beat the very good players, he has to hit it much more harder. That he did, when this year, in Paris, he upset Roberto Bautista Agut, Rafa Nadal, and Pablo Carreno Busta. That was pretty darn good. Still, in order to reach in the top 20, he will have to improve his return and his second serve.

31. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
It is very interesting that the Spaniard, who must be thinking that just like with Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — the Slam winners, that if he continues to be much more laid back, then he will be able to leap into the top 10. If so, he is going to hit it much more harder and really push it. If he does not, then he will not be able to go super far at the ATP 1000s, let alone at the Slams.

30. Francisco Cerundolo
There are so many Argentines who are super respectable. But can Cerundolo chop down the big boys? Well, he is trying as he started ranked No. 127 and is now top 30. On clay, he became much more confident, scoring wins with his big forehand. He was happy on court, but in the last four months, he froze. Hopefully in 2023, he can find his direction and ram it up into the top 15.

29. Miomir Kecmanovic
The Serbian began to rise up this year, reaching the quarters at Indian Wells and Miami. He is not quite ready to beat the great players, but at least he upset Felix Auger-Aliassime. His forehand and backhands are stout. Yes, he played some terrific matches. But he is not steady enough and he lost too early. He will have to change it in 2023, to hand it closer to the lines.

28. Grigor Dimitrov
Years ago, the Bulgarian was mixing it up and his one-hander backhand was effective. He reached the top 10 and also made it into a three Grand Slam semis. The veteran can be a blast when he is on, but then he would be so-so in the match and can be so erratic and frustrated. He has not improved enough, especially at the net. Before he retires, he has to add some different shots. Please do.

27. Daniel Evans
The 32-year-old Britain veteran had a decent year, winning Nottingham on grass. But at Wimbledon, he went down immediately in the first round. That was brutal. Yes, he can be very steady, and he is much more thoughtful, but the problem is that while he wants to win a huge tournament, he has not been able to do it. There will be another chance to go super deep at the Slams. At least one more time.

26. Borna Coric
Mr. Consistent finally played perfectly, winning Cincinnati, beating Nadal, Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Stefanos Tsitsipas. That was a stunner, as he has been pretty good, but not spectacular. He is fast, and he runs, plus he can play a long time during the rallies. Yes, he got hurt and then he came back, and he changed it up a little bit, with his serve. He may never win a Slam, but at least he is more effective now.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Borna Coric, Daniel Evans, Francisco Cerundolo, Grigor Dimitrov, Matt Cronin, Miomir Kecmanovic, Tommy Paul