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NY Post
New York Post
10 Jul 2023


NextImg:Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s underarm serve costs him Wimbledon match: ‘S–t myself’

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina thought he was going to catch Holger Rune off guard.

Instead, he was promptly eliminated from the Wimbledon draw.

During a fifth-set tiebreaker against Rune on Saturday when the score was tied at 8, Davidovich Fokina tried to sneak an underarm serve by his Danish opponent, but Rune demolished the meek offering for a crosscourt winner.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s unorthodox serve did not work.
AFP via Getty Images

Rune won the next point as well, taking the marathon match with a final of 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8).

Davidovich Fokina, a 24-year-old Spaniard, was blunt in his assessment of his woeful decision.

“I have to accept what happened. I s–t myself and I did not want to play that point,” he told Relevo in an interview translated from Spanish.

Holger Rune
Holger Rune had no trouble with the weak underarm serve.
REUTERS

“I cannot explain what is going through my mind there in that moment because a lot of things are going through your mind, everybody is shouting and you are nervous.”

The Spaniard had previously nailed a brilliant backhand lob to pull ahead 8-5 in the tiebreaker, but did not win another point.

“Yeah, that was crazy. That was very unexpected, for sure. I don’t know,” Rune said about the serve. “In a way, it was nice, because he was serving really well during the match. But also, you know, it’s pressure, because imagine I missed that one. That would feel awful.”

The tennis world was shocked at the baffling decision during such a pivotal moment.

“My god that was one of the most earth trembling brain farts I’ve ever seen on a tennis court,” tennis writer Ben Rothenberg tweeted.

American tennis TV personality Brad Gilbert said he was “absolutely dumbfounded” by the serve.

 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina during his second round match
Davidovich Fokina has a history of bad decisions on the court.
REUTERS

It isn’t the first time Davidovich Fokina has lost his head during a crucial moment.

At Wimbledon last year, he lost another match during a five-set tiebreak after he committed a ball abuse penalty, handing Jiri Vesely a victory on match point.

Davidovich Fokina has peaked at a No. 24 singles ranking and the furthest he has advanced at a Grand Slam is the French Open quarterfinals in 2021.

He has not won any titles on the ATP Tour.