Davidovich Fokina edges out Draper in tough battle to reach quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo
The Spaniard won a topsy-turvy match and will play Australian Alexei Popyrin or Norwegian Casper Ruud, the No 4 seed, in the next round
Chryslene Caillaud / Psnewz
Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina advanced to the last eight of the Monte-Carlo Masters by edging out No 5 seed Jack Draper 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4 at the Monte-Carlo Country Club on Thursday.
Draper saved a match point in the second set but the Briton was well below his best, with 10 double faults hurting him badly. The Spaniard held his nerve better in the third and broke Draper on another double to clinch victory.
“I didn’t feel my best tennis today and not my best mental strategy,” an emotional Davidovich Fokina told Sky Sports. “Today was a rollercoaster with my mind.
“I didn’t know how to control the emotions today. I didn’t respect myself, first, and for my team, I’m so sorry how I did it today but I’m happy for the win.”
Davidovich Fokina, ranked No 42, will play the winner of the match between Australian Alexei Popyrin and Norwegian Casper Ruud, the No 4 seed, next.
The Spaniard beat American Ben Shelton, the No 11 seed (6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-1) and Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry (7-6 (2), 6-3) ahead of his victory.
In the previous round of the Monte-Carlo tournament, Draper, ranked No 6, won against American Marcos Giron (6-1, 6-1).
Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, other last 16 results (Monte-Carlo Country Club, clay, EUR 6.128.940, most recent results first):
- Alejandro Tabilo vs. Grigor Dimitrov
- Nuno Borges vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Daniil Medvedev vs. Alex De Minaur
- Matteo Berrettini vs. Lorenzo Musetti
- Daniel Altmaier vs. Carlos Alcaraz
- Alexei Popyrin vs. Casper Ruud: thursday
- Arthur Fils (12) beat Andrey Rublev (7): 6-2, 6-3
