It will be a rematch of one of 2025’s most memorable encounters when Alex de Minaur and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina meet again in round two of the Hamburg Open on Wednesday afternoon.
Already the best player on the ATP Tour to have never won a title, Davidovich Fokina faced De Minaur in the final of last summer’s 500-point tournament in Washington, D.C. The Spaniard had three championship points and also led 30-0 while serving for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but he could not get across the finish line. De Minaur eventually forced a decisive tiebreaker and went on to triumph 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3) after three hours and three minutes.
They have not squared off since that result, so Davidovich Fokina has not yet had a chance to erase those demons — pun intended.
He will be hard-pressed to do so in Hamburg even though clay gives him a surface advantage over De Minaur. That’s because Davidovich Fokina has not been playing well in 2026 regardless of the court. He is a modest 12-9 with no semifinal appearances since Adelaide in January and no quarterfinal results since Dallas in February.
Davidovich Fokina did well to defeat Corentin Moutet 6-4, 6-4 on Monday, but De Minaur posted an even more impressive 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Francisco Cerundolo. Although the ninth-ranked Australian may not be at his best on clay, he did grow up on this surface while training primarily in Spain. It’s not like he is hopeless on the slow stuff.
Look for De Minaur to win his third match in a row over Davidovich Fokina.
Pick: De Minaur in 3