When Spanish qualifier Alejandro Davidovich Fokina faces off against Novak Djokovic for the first time at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, he’ll hit the court against the World No. 1 with an edge that most players could only dream of.
Davidovich Fokina will be playing against his regular practice partner Djokovic in the third round at the Foro Italico. The 21-year-old, who has played three Top 10 players this year, said he knows ‘how he plays and how he thinks’ after training with the Serbian in Spain’s Costa del Sol since last year.
“It's going to be a big challenge, but I'm so excited to play tomorrow against Djokovic,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I knew him because we train [and] we practice a lot of times in Marbella. I know how he plays, how he thinks. Then I will not be surprised how he's going to play tomorrow.”
After 15 years in Monte-Carlo, Djokovic moved to Marbella after spending much of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in the Spanish city with his family. He has had no shortage of practice partners, with local players including Malaga native Davidovich Fokina getting the nod on several occasions.
"It was a great experience," Davidovich Fokina recalled in an interview last year. "He made everything very easy for me, it was very comfortable training with him. You learn a lot, as you train hard for two hours and hit every ball where it has to be. Mentally, he is unbelievable. Training with him, it really rubbed off on me and helped me see where my game was."
The 21-year-old Spaniard credits the time spent on court with the World No. 1 as being one of the catalysts behind his breakthrough run to the fourth round at last year’s US Open, his best Grand Slam result to date.
“Training with Djokovic has helped me a lot. Before the US Open we trained for two weeks, and it was great to go there with the rhythm he gave me,” he said.
“I’m not going to be surprised at all with the way he plays. We all know he is a great player. I will enjoy playing him tomorrow.”
But it wasn’t just clean groundstrokes and baseline rhythm that Djokovic has imparted on the young Spaniard. Davidovich Fokina also recalled anecdotes the World No. 1 shared of his previous encounters with other members of the Big Three, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“In practice there in Marbella, he was telling me stories about how he played against Roger, against Rafa, in the final in Australia, in the final [of the] US Open… [Those are] good things to know about the No. 1 player in the world,” Davidovich Fokina said.
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After defeating 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov and Cameron Norrie to reach the third round in Rome for the first time, Davidovich Fokina will hope to channel his practice partner’s intensity and winning mentality against the man himself when they face off on Thursday.
The Spaniard is hoping to continue building on the upward trajectory he has built up during the clay-court season, where he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in Monte Carlo (l. Tsitsipas) as well as the semi-finals at the ATP 250 event in Estoril. In the Principality, Davidovich Fokina also claimed his first Top 10 win against Matteo Berrettini, who later went on to reach the Mutua Madrid Open final.
“Tomorrow I have to be more solid to be more [patient], because he's a very solid player,” Davidovich Fokina said. “He attacks, he defends so well. I have to come tomorrow to play my best game.”
Davidovich Fokina will be playing against his regular practice partner Djokovic in the third round at the Foro Italico. The 21-year-old, who has played three Top 10 players this year, said he knows ‘how he plays and how he thinks’ after training with the Serbian in Spain’s Costa del Sol since last year.
“It's going to be a big challenge, but I'm so excited to play tomorrow against Djokovic,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I knew him because we train [and] we practice a lot of times in Marbella. I know how he plays, how he thinks. Then I will not be surprised how he's going to play tomorrow.”
After 15 years in Monte-Carlo, Djokovic moved to Marbella after spending much of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in the Spanish city with his family. He has had no shortage of practice partners, with local players including Malaga native Davidovich Fokina getting the nod on several occasions.
"It was a great experience," Davidovich Fokina recalled in an interview last year. "He made everything very easy for me, it was very comfortable training with him. You learn a lot, as you train hard for two hours and hit every ball where it has to be. Mentally, he is unbelievable. Training with him, it really rubbed off on me and helped me see where my game was."
The 21-year-old Spaniard credits the time spent on court with the World No. 1 as being one of the catalysts behind his breakthrough run to the fourth round at last year’s US Open, his best Grand Slam result to date.
“Training with Djokovic has helped me a lot. Before the US Open we trained for two weeks, and it was great to go there with the rhythm he gave me,” he said.
“I’m not going to be surprised at all with the way he plays. We all know he is a great player. I will enjoy playing him tomorrow.”
But it wasn’t just clean groundstrokes and baseline rhythm that Djokovic has imparted on the young Spaniard. Davidovich Fokina also recalled anecdotes the World No. 1 shared of his previous encounters with other members of the Big Three, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“In practice there in Marbella, he was telling me stories about how he played against Roger, against Rafa, in the final in Australia, in the final [of the] US Open… [Those are] good things to know about the No. 1 player in the world,” Davidovich Fokina said.
[WATCH LIVE 1]
After defeating 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov and Cameron Norrie to reach the third round in Rome for the first time, Davidovich Fokina will hope to channel his practice partner’s intensity and winning mentality against the man himself when they face off on Thursday.
The Spaniard is hoping to continue building on the upward trajectory he has built up during the clay-court season, where he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in Monte Carlo (l. Tsitsipas) as well as the semi-finals at the ATP 250 event in Estoril. In the Principality, Davidovich Fokina also claimed his first Top 10 win against Matteo Berrettini, who later went on to reach the Mutua Madrid Open final.
“Tomorrow I have to be more solid to be more [patient], because he's a very solid player,” Davidovich Fokina said. “He attacks, he defends so well. I have to come tomorrow to play my best game.”