DELRAY BEACH/STARNBERG, February 15, 2025
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina upset two-time defending champion Taylor Fritz from the United States to reach the semi-finals of the Delray Beach Open. The No. 8 seed of the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Florida fought past the top seed 7-6(4), 7-6(5) on Friday evening.
Davidovich Fokina withstood 13 aces from Fritz, capitalized on all of his three break point chances and won 51 per cent of the total points played to secure victory in two hours and 25 minutes.
What a way to win it
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina upsets two time defending champion Taylor Fritz 7-6 7-6 #DBOpen pic.twitter.com/Qq9Fr0Ipf3
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 15, 2025
Up next for Davidovich Fokina will be fourth-seeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi, who edged out No. 5 seed Brandon Nakshima of the United States 7-6(2), 6-4 in one hour and 42 minutes.
In the top half of the draw, Alex Michelsen defeated Briton Cameron Norrie 7-6(3), 7-5. The third-seeded US-American fired nine aces and won 80 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after one hour and 38 minutes.
“It’s tough to play someone twice in two weeks,” said Michelsen, who lost to Norrie at last week’s Dallas Open. “I think Cam is a great player, a great competitor. His backhand is world class, I tried to stay away from that as much as I could. I didn’t do that amazing last time I played him, but this time I made some adjustments and the game plan worked well.”
Michelsen will next play No. 7 seed Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, who rallied past fifth favourite Marcos Giron from the United States, winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. The encounter lasted one hour and 40 minutes.
