Alejandro Davidovich Fokina became the champion of the ATP 250 tournament in Chengdu. In the final, the second-seeded Spaniard beat fifth-seeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6 to claim the hard-court title, which carries a $1.3 million prize fund. According to rank.tennis, Davidovich Fokina is ranked 26th in the world (1930 points), while Hurkacz sits 39th (1285 points).
The Spaniard took the first set 6-4. The second set was tighter and went to a tiebreak, where Davidovich Fokina again came out on top. The final was decided in two sets, according to api.tennis.
Road to the title
Davidovich Fokina played four matches in Chengdu and dropped just one set along the way. In the round of 16 he beat Juan Manuel Cerúndolo (6-4, 6-4), in the quarterfinal he defeated Alexandre Müller (6-1, 7-5), and in the semifinal he lost the first set to Nikoloz Basilashvili before turning the match around (4-6, 6-4, 6-3). Hurkacz had a tougher path to the final. He beat Alexander Shevchenko (6-3, 7-6), Martin Damm Jr. (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) and Lloyd Harris (7-6, 6-4), and in the semifinal came back after losing the opening set against Denis Shapovalov (6-7, 6-3, 6-3).
This final marked the seventh meeting between the two players, with the Spaniard leading their head-to-head 5-2. Among his victories is a five-set battle at Wimbledon in 2022 (7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6, 7-6), while Hurkacz got the better of him in Madrid that same year (6-4, 4-6, 7-6).