Alex de Minaur stormed from 4-1 down in the final set to seize the DC Open in major positives ahead of the US Open
The Australian No.1, who is now ranked 8th on the ATP live rankings, recovered after dropping the first set against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, steamrolling him in the second before coming back from 4-1 down in the final set to claim a 6-7, 6-1, 7-6 win.
Playing his first event since being ousted by Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, 26-year-old de Minaur then looked like fading in the final set against the 12th seed.
Hut he rallied, broke his opponent's serve twice, including with Davidovich Fokina serving for the match at 5-3.
Then de Minaur saved three match points while serving at 4-5 to level the final set 5-5 as the match time ticked close to three hours
Davidovich Fokina ramped up his serve to hold, getting to 6-5, then de Minaur level again 6-6 sending the electric contest to a final tie-break for the title.
The Australian was then never headed in the deciding 10 minutes, winning the opening two points of the tie-break and going on with the, winning 7-3 to take the win in just over three hours.
It was de Minaur's 19th ATP Tour final of his career, and the Australian star now has 35 wins this season, hoping to crack the 50 win mark for the first time having won either 46 or 47 matches in each of the past three seasons.
WASHING-TEN � @alexdeminaur makes it double digits in titles! #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/WVmopZYUfw
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 28, 2025
Before the tournament began, de Minaur was adamant he was at his 'peak' and big wins had to start coming.
'I've got the experience now. I've got the knowledge, the physicality side of things. Everything is just there for me to go out and perform,' De Minaur said.
'I can really have a swing these next three or four years and really show that I'm at my peak and break through some barriers.'
Those barriers will next present themselves at Flushing Meadow with a possible run in the new-look US Open doubles with de Minaur's British fiance, Katie Boulter, before his assault on singles.
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