The Spanish Alexander Davidovich prolonged his idyll with the Montecarlo Masters 1,000 and reached the final after beat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in three sets after two hours and 43 minutes of play. After certifying his victory, he was “very happy” to fulfill “a dream” that he had since he was a child.
The 22-year-old Andalusian, who arrived at the Monegasque Country Club with four wins and nine losses so far this season, has stood out in Monte Carlo. Along the way he left the number one in the world, the Serbian Novak Djokovic. Then the tenth seed and champion in Indian Wells, the American Taylor Fritz. Also the current winner in Marrakech the Belgian David Goffin. And in the semifinals the former number three in the ranking, the Bulgarian Dimitrov, who had already played a match for the title years ago.
Davidovich was contesting his first semifinal at a Masters 1000 and felt the pressure when he was able to wrap up the match in straight sets. He had 5-4 and the serve. And he failed. Afterwards he gave the feeling of having it lost but a 5-0 run in the third put him back in front of success.
“I’m so, so happy to be in the final. It’s a dream come true,” Davidovich said on court. “When I was a child I dreamed of this day. It is a dream and I am very happy,” he insisted excitedly.
The Spaniard acknowledged that he did not play well in the final stretch of the second set to win the match. “The second set I had my chances but I didn’t play very well. I was under a lot of pressure and he just focused on getting the ball on the court. The tiebreaker was also tight,” he said.
He lost the second set and took advantage of the break to go to the locker room. “I went to the dressing room and told myself that I wanted the victory.”
Davidovich had already reached the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo last year. He retired when he was playing with the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, with whom he will face in the final.
The Spaniard had never carried out an ATP semifinal. He had played three. All without success. Until now. Davidovich will move up nineteen places in the ranking for playing in the final. He will be ranked 27th and in the top 20 if he wins the title.
“Dimitrov started the second set well. He broke my kick-off and could have broken me again to make it 3-0. But he didn’t make it and that gave me the strength to push again,” acknowledged the Spaniard who later got 5-0 that brought him closer to victory.
“Now that I’m in the final, I’ll enjoy it and give it my best,” warned the man from Malaga.