Australia’s Alex de Minaur delivered one of the most thrilling performances of the 2025 tennis season as he defeated Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5–7, 6–1, 7–6(7–3) to win the Washington Open on Sunday, July 27.
The victory didn’t come easy. De Minaur saved three match points at 3–5 down in the deciding set before storming back to force a tiebreak, which he won convincingly. It marks his first title of the year and the 10th ATP title of his career.
The match lasted just over three hours and was played in sweltering conditions at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center.
The 26-year-old had struggled to capture silverware this season, but his grit and composure under pressure signaled a renewed threat as the U.S. Open approaches. “It was chaos,” de Minaur said post-match. “There were moments I thought it was slipping, but I just kept fighting.”
A Career Milestone and a Class Act
De Minaur’s win places him among an elite group of Australians with 10 or more ATP titles, joining legends like Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, and Mark Philippoussis.
He now holds 35 match wins this season—second-most on the ATP Tour—and has reached multiple finals, including Rotterdam earlier this year.
The emotional weight of the match was visible after the final point, as de Minaur crossed the net to console a devastated Davidovich Fokina, who was within touching distance of what would have been his first ATP title.
“You’re way too good to not have one of these,” de Minaur told him during the trophy ceremony. “You deserved it today. I just got lucky.”
Davidovich Fokina, who had also lost finals in Delray Beach and Acapulco earlier this year, will rise to a career-high ATP ranking of No. 19 following his performance in Washington.
With this win, de Minaur will now re-enter the ATP Top 10, climbing to No. 8 in the rankings. This positions him as a top contender heading into the final Grand Slam of the year.
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