Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has become the latest ATP Masters 1000 champion following his fantastic run in Shanghai.
Davidovich Fokina battled past Rafael Jodar in the final of the Shanghai Masters to secure the biggest title of his career so far, having won their clash 1-6, 7-6(7-5), 6-4. He also beat the likes of top seed Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe during his unforgettable run.
Spanish ace Davidovich Fokina was quick to reference Arthur Fils following his success, having been inspired by the Frenchman’s return from injury. But while the Spaniard and his ATP rival deserve huge praise for their comebacks, comments from Davidovich Fokina concerning the matter won’t exactly be welcomed by the ATP Tour.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s comments in Shanghai may worry the ATP Tour
Having missed two months because of a back injury, the new Shanghai champion said of his absence: “I remember now when Arthur Fils, he’s a very good friend of mine and he skipped a lot of tournaments this year. And he came back stronger, winning all the matches. So that gave me a lot of power. If he can do it, I can do it too.”
Davidovich Fokina has been inspired by Fils, with the pair very clearly showing that players don’t actually need to be playing regularly to achieve success. They can evidently pick and choose what events they want to play, opting in and out whenever it suits.
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On both occasions it was because of injury, but other players may be inspired to take breaks simply to rest and recover, and feel fresh for a new tournament or key period in the calendar. Veteran Novak Djokovic is a prime example, with the Serbian only committing to events when he feels ready to play. And like Davidovich Fokina, he is a recent champion, with Djokovic winning the China Open.
Much more similar to the Spaniard, his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz missed over four months of the season with a wrist injury. But the ATP superstar didn’t take long at all to get back to winning ways, with Alcaraz clinching the Japan Open trophy. He has also shown that clearly players can enjoy lengthy stays at tournaments without much preparation time at all, as evidenced by a US Open quarterfinal run in his first event back from injury.
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Perhaps the situation will lead to the ATP Tour having a rethink, along with the fact that one of its main players has already called time on his campaign. Jannik Sinner has ended his season early, and he isn’t the only one, with Joao Fonseca having just followed suit.
The ATP Tour and tournament directors and sponsors will want the big names playing as often as possible, but some of the biggest names have simply decided that it isn’t worth it. And that could spell disaster for the powers that be.
