Alejandro Davidovich pursues his fourth CF of the year in Stockholm | ATP Tour

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Davidovich looks for his fourth CF of the year in Stockholm

No. 2 seed Casper Ruud advanced to the quarterfinals

October 16, 2024

Five ATP Tour tournaments later, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina intends to have two consecutive wins. That is the goal he is pursuing this week at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open, where he advanced to the second round this Wednesday.

The 25-year-old Spaniard resolved his debut at the ATP 250 in Stockholm with a victory against the Argentine from the previous phase Thiago Agustín Tirante by 7-6(2), 6-2 in one hour and 42 minutes.

It was the first duel recorded by the Lexus ATP Head2Head between the two. Although the Argentine raised his tally to 10 aces and managed to defend the six break point opportunities he conceded in the first set, the Andalusian won the tie-break with authority. Shortly after, in the second set, he linked five games in a row – going from 1-2 to 6-2 – to continue ahead.

The last time Davidovich managed to add two wins in a row in the same tournament was last August at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada, where after defeating No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, he was forced to retire in the round of 16 against Matteo Arnaldi.

The current No. 64 in the PIF ATP Rankings participates for the second time in Stockholm. His only precedent dates back to 2021, where he advanced one round after beating Mackenzie McDonald (l. to Daniel Evans). This time, he will try to surpass his ceiling against Swiss wild card Stan Wawrinka, who beat No. 6 seed Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 20 minutes.

Davidovich Fokina will try to qualify for the quarterfinals of an ATP Tour tournament for the fourth time this season. He has already achieved it previously in Marseille (l. with Ugo Humbert), Dubai (l. with Medvedev) and Atlanta (l. with Jordan Thompson).

Ruud, heading to the quarterfinals
This Wednesday the first places in the quarterfinals were also resolved and the No. 2 seed Casper Ruud did not fail in his debut on the indoor hard court in Stockholm. The Norwegian defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6(3) in one hour and 44 minutes.

Ruud, who is just one win away from 50 this season, will try to reach the number against No. 7 seed Tallon Griekspoor, who won his ticket shortly before against British qualifier Jacob Fearnley 7-6(0). , 6-3 in one hour and 29 minutes.

The surprise of the day was played by the Swiss Dominic Stricker, who plays with a protected ranking, and was able to beat the Italian Matteo Berrettini in two sets 7-6(6), 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes.

Did you know that…?
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is the only Spanish player left in the main draw of the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm, after Pedro Martínez could not continue this Tuesday in the first round against Laslo Djere.