(No. 7) Alex De Minaur def. (No. 12) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (3)

Alex de Minaur rallied from a set down and saved three championship points to defeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a dramatic three-set final at the DC Open on Sunday.

The match began with both players trading early breaks, but it was Davidovich Fokina who took control of the opening set with a second break and closed it out confidently.

De Minaur responded in the second set, converting two of four break point opportunities while holding serve throughout. He wrapped up the set in just over 30 minutes to force a deciding third.

Davidovich Fokina appeared to be on the verge of capturing his first ATP title when he broke for a 5-3 lead in the final set. However, he failed to serve out the match, allowing de Minaur to break back. The Spaniard then gave up three match points on de Minaur’s serve at 5-4. On the third, de Minaur was inches from defeat before a desperate lob clipped the sideline, turning the point and ultimately the match in his favor.

In the decisive tiebreak, de Minaur capitalized on a string of unforced errors from Davidovich Fokina to seal a gutsy win.

With the win, de Minaur claims his 10th ATP title, his eighth on hard courts, and avenges his 2018 runner-up finish in Washington to Alexander Zverev. The Australian will climb five spots in the ATP rankings, reaching a career high of No. 8 ahead of next month’s US Open.

For Davidovich Fokina, the loss marks another heartbreaking setback. The No. 12 seed dropped to 0-4 in ATP Tour finals, despite holding a 5-2 lead in the third set and being just a point away from victory multiple times. Earlier this year, he also let slip two championship points in the Delray Beach final against Miomir Kecmanovic and lost the title match in Acapulco to Tomas Machac.

Still, the Spaniard will break into the ATP top 20 for the first time in his career, rising seven spots to No. 19. Despite the ranking milestone, he remains the highest ranked man yet to win an ATP title.