Novak Djokovic’s game features everything that both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have in theirs, according to the person who will next play him on the Tour.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will be Djokovic’s opponent in his opening match at the Western and Southern Open on Wednesday evening. The Spaniard poses a potentially stern challenge to the 23-time Grand Slam champion who hasn’t played since Wimbledon. Fokina defeated Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud en route to the semi-finals of the Canadian Open last week. Then in his opening match in Cincinnati, he eased to a 6-3, 6-3, win over Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
The 24-year-old has previously beaten Djokovic which was last year at the Monte Carlo Masters. Although at the time the Serbian was playing in only his second tournament of the season after missing a series of events due to his decision not to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Overall, Fokina trails their head-to-head 1-3.
“I wanted to one day play against him and obviously if I can beat him, for me it would have been a dream. I think it is the same now,” Davidovich Fokina told the ATP website. “If I can win this match, for me it’s a dream because in the end you don’t win against these guys every day.”
Fokina, who is yet to win a title on the ATP Tour, has recorded five wins over top 10 players so far in his career. He has previously reached the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2021 and was runner-up in Monte Carlo the following year.
The question is does the world No.23 believe he can pull off another shock win over Djokovic this week?
“I remember that I was dominating him very good. And in the middle of the second set, he broke me back. When he won the second set, he was on fire. But I just was [focussed] on being on court, to play against him and to be focussed on every ball,” Davidovich Fokina recounted of his previous win. “I think that the key to win was to be focussed in every point.’
“It doesn’t matter the result, you forget about the result. You have to play against him because at the end, he’s a legend. And you don’t play every day with these types of guys.”
Djokovic is playing in America for the first time since 2021 after previously being denied entry into the country due to his vaccination status. The country had in place an emergency health protocol to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic but those restrictions were lifted earlier this year.
The match between Fokina and Djokovic is scheduled to take place on Center Court on Wednesday. It will follow Stefanos Tsitsipas’ clash with Ben Shelton and will not take place before 19:00 local time (23:00 GMT).
