Davidovich is unleashed

With the Principality still stretching, at eleven in the morning, Alejandro Davidovich returned to the center court of the Monte Carlo Country Club where on Tuesday there was busted the return of Novak Djokovic to look for the semifinals of the Masters 1,000. And almost two and a half hours later, unleashed, he caught up with them with an act of faith to break his ceiling in a tournament of this category. If last year he fell in the quarterfinals against Stefanos Tsitsipas, ultimately champion, this time he beat Taylor Fritz with a comeback: 2-6, 6-4 and 6-3. In the semifinals, this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (#Vamos) will be measured against Grigor Dimitrov (30 years old and 29th), who defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 3-6 and 7-6 (7/2).

The 22-year-old from Rincón de la Victoria left, willing to be faithful to the spirit of his adviser Martín Fiz, the 1995 marathon world champion who has been advising him since the end of 2020: fight, long-distance running, do not despair, persevere and trust your physique if the battle drags on… And so Davidovich had in the first set of break balls, up to five, in all turns of the American’s serve. But the Indian Wells champion, the tennis player with the most victories this year along with Rafa Nadal (20), took advantage of the Malaga-born errors (double fault and drive out for the first break, 1-3) and added to that his great quality to take the sleeve with another break and a difference in the marker that did not reflect the effort of the Spanish.

Fritz, a 24-year-old tennis player who is rising like foam (13th in the world), had to be treated by the physio of the abdominal area, but he also knows how to suffer, as he showed in the Indian Wells final when he beat Nadal in the who came out with a sprained ankle. In the second set, after a first six games in ‘valley mode’, Foki was activated. He glimpsed a drop in the Californian and started a break for 5-4 that cost him to consolidate the serve because Fritz had two break balls, but he dispelled them after trying something crazy like a serve from below… Outbursts that are still difficult for him to master but that are also his hallmark.

Fritz, then, saw in front of the wall that crushes the marathoners before reaching 42 km. A border that Davidovich knows very well how to erase from his mind. Master Fiz has told him many times. He broke for 2-1, fumbled to let the American equalize with another break (2-2) but then fired to victory. On the last play, he saved a shot with a popcorn that made him roll on the ground and Fritz crashed a shot that seemed easy on the net. The marathon runner, who is already guaranteed to climb to 32nd place in the ranking from 46th, knew how to win the race. Behind the next finish line banner awaits the final.