Davidovich apologizes: "I have not respected myself nor my team"

Fernando Murciego | 10 Apr 2025 | 14.54

Alejandro Davidovich apologized to his team in Monte Carlo. Source: Getty

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With more relief than anything else, Alejandro Davidovich high-fives Jack Draper at the net of Court Rainier III before releasing all the burden on the bench. Protected by his yellow cap, the Spanish player sheds tears of helplessness, frustration, and discomfort with himself, emotions that have accompanied him throughout the three-hour battle on clay. Certainly not the usual image of a player who has just secured his spot in the quarterfinals of such an important tournament as the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo. But what really happened? Why that feeling of pain? It's as simple as this: in sports, as in life, the substance is not always everything. The way it's done also matters, an area where the player from Malaga didn't measure up today.

“The truth is that today I didn't feel my best tennis on the court, but neither did my mentality, especially in terms of the match strategy,” he began in the interview that the folks at TennisTV always conduct a couple minutes after the match point.

“It was a really tough match, a rollercoaster ride from start to finish with my mind. At times, I saw myself playing at a good level of tennis, but then my mind would whisper a lot of crap to me. Honestly, I didn't know how to handle my emotions today. It was very emotional for me to be competing here for another day, but at certain moments, I wasn't able to respect myself, first and then my team. I feel really sorry for how I managed things today, so now I can only accept it and try to do much better tomorrow,” he emphasized with tremendous regret, completely forgetting about the victory.

It all started going awry in the second set when Davidovich was riding high with a set and a break up in the second, until an interruption due to a fainting incident among the audience threw him off track. That's when the errors came, the breaks, and occasional disagreements with his coach, Félix Mantilla. In fact, the coach chose not to appear in the stands at all during the third set, sacrificing his presence in the scene after some comments that probably didn’t sit well with him. Luckily, Alex, as young as he is, has a kind heart. A good person who sometimes struggles to concentrate but always cares for those around him. And when he needs to apologize, he does.

WITHOUT A RIVAL IN QUARTERFINALS

After overcoming Ben Shelton, Tomás Martín Etcheverry, and Jack Draper, two of them left-handed players, which is significant. “I can't reveal the secret here,” Fokina joked during the interview, knowing that he currently holds a good streak against opponents who fall into this category. Feeling more composed after releasing all his demons, the Malaga player looked at his latest victory from a different perspective, arguing that the outcome of the match could have been different.

“The truth is that today Jack could have easily beaten me because he played better than I did; at times, he was superior. The difference is that in the end, I gritted my teeth, trying to stay in each point, each ball, accepting all that suffering at the moment. It was crucial to hold my ground on serve for most of the third set, then bring everything together in those final games of the set. I'm happy with how I managed to solve issues in those last two games,” evaluated the Spanish player, who will now face the winner of the ongoing match between Casper Ruud and Alexei Popyrin in the quarterfinals.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Davidovich pide perdón: “No me he respetado a mí y tampoco a mi equipo”