Citi Open: From 2-5 in the third to a big upset, Davidovich Fokina moves into last four eliminating Fritz

The Citi Open final four is set as Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the No. 12 seed, reached the semi-finals by edging out American Taylor Fritz, the top seed, 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5 at 1:45 a.m. at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington on Saturday night.

Davidovich Fokina, ranked No. 26, will next face No. 4 seed Ben Shelton, who previously eliminated Frances Tiafoe in a long day marked by a lightning interruption during the incredible battle between Daniil Medvedev and Corentin Moutet.

This is the Spaniard’s fifth semi-final appearance of the year. He had beaten American Learner Tien (6-2, 6-2) and Jaume Munar (6-4, 6-2) earlier in the tournament. The victory against Fritz marked Davidovich Fokina’s 11th career win against a top 10 player; he had already defeated Fritz, then ranked No 4, to reach the Delray Beach final in February.

Fritz’s long run since June

Earlier in the tournament, Fritz, ranked No. 4, had victories over Italian Matteo Arnaldi (6-3, 6-4) and Australian Aleksandar Vukic (6-3, 6-2). The American appeared visibly exhausted at the end of the third set, losing five games in a row after leading 5-2, 30-30 on his serve, ultimately losing 7-5.

Fritz, who is set to defend his points from the 2024 US Open final this summer, is on a 15-3 run since early June, which includes titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne and a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Washington ATP 500, other last eight results (William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, hard, USD 2.396.115, most recent results first):

• Ben Shelton beat Frances Tiafoe (6): 7-6 (2), 6-4
• Alex De Minaur (7) beat Brandon Nakashima (14): 6-4, 6-4
• Corentin Moutet (LL) beat Daniil Medvedev (8): 1-6, 6-4, 6-4