Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won the Chengdu Open on 29 September, beating Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6(7) to claim the first hard-court ATP Tour title of his career after a lay-off with a lower-back injury.
The Spanish second seed recovered from 6-3 down in the second-set tie-break, saving four set points before winning the final three points for a 9-7 tie-break. The victory prevented a deciding set and completed a straight-sets final which lasted one hour and 46 minutes, according to Tennis TourTalk.
It was Davidovich Fokina’s second ATP Tour title of 2026 and followed his maiden tour-level trophy on grass in Mallorca three months earlier. The 27-year-old had previously lost four hard-court finals, so the Chengdu result ends that run and gives him a title on a second surface in the same season.
Davidovich Fokina protects his serve
The final was decided by narrow margins. Davidovich Fokina saved the only break point he faced, in the sixth game of the opening set, before securing the match’s only break in the following game. Tennis Majors reported that he held all 11 of his service games.
Hurkacz, the fifth seed, served 17 aces and saved five of the six break points he faced, Tennis Majors reported. But the one break conceded gave Davidovich Fokina the first set, and Hurkacz could not convert his tie-break advantage in the second.
Tennis Majors reported that Davidovich Fokina landed 77 per cent of his first serves and won 46 of 53 points behind that delivery. He served eight aces, fewer than Hurkacz, but did not surrender serve during the final. Those figures provide further context for a match in which a single break and the closing tie-break separated the players.
Davidovich Fokina said, in comments reported by Tennis TourTalk, that Hurkacz had served strongly from the start and had offered few opportunities to break. He assessed his own baseline consistency as an important factor, adding that the tie-break had ultimately been decided by very fine margins.
The recovery in the tie-break was especially significant because Hurkacz had established three set points at 6-3 and created a fourth before Davidovich Fokina turned the set around. The Spaniard’s ability to hold his nerve at that point gave him the title without requiring a third set.
His route to the final included victories over qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili, qualifier Alexandre Muller and Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Tennis Majors reported. Those results meant Davidovich Fokina completed the tournament title on his first Chengdu appearance, as reported by Tennis TourTalk.
Tennis Majors reported that Davidovich Fokina began his campaign by beating Basilashvili 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, before defeating Muller 6-1, 7-5 and Cerundolo 6-4, 6-4. The three wins gave him a route to the final that included one three-set recovery before he completed the tournament with victory over Hurkacz.
Title follows injury absence
The Chengdu victory came on Davidovich Fokina’s return from a lower-back injury. He missed the US Open after making what he described as a difficult decision with his team to focus on recovery.
He said the title had shown that decision was the right one. Tennis Majors also reported that he dedicated the trophy to his team, family and wife, describing the time away from tournaments as difficult.
The result continues a sharp change in Davidovich Fokina’s record in finals. Tennis TourTalk reported that he lost his first five ATP Tour finals before winning his past two, while Tennis Majors specified that all four of his previous hard-court finals had ended in defeat. Chengdu therefore supplies both his second career title and a breakthrough on the surface.
For Hurkacz, the defeat ended a bid for his first ATP Tour title since Estoril in 2024, according to Tennis Majors. Davidovich Fokina, meanwhile, became the second Spanish player to win the Chengdu title after Pablo Carreno Busta in 2019.