ANALYSIS - Davidovich and the keys to his transformation: he is better in every aspect
We focus on Foki's performances during the Asian tour: why has he now conquered his first Masters 1000? What has he done differently?
Winning a Masters 1000 is not a random occurrence. When you have been chasing a great result for a long time, unable to turn the wealth of talent emanating from your racket into significant successes, reaching the pinnacle is preceded by a series of adjustments born from hard work and a thorough analysis of how to evolve. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has not only organized his temperament to lift the ATP Shanghai 2026: he has also undergone a complete transformation of his game, improving nearly every aspect imperceptibly until he became a new player.
These improvements have been clearer than ever during an Asian tour in which Foki averages higher scores than usual... in absolutely all metrics. All the main shots and metrics have improved, guided by Pepo Clavet, who has managed to channel Foki's talent and place the perfect guardrails so he doesn't stray from the tracks. The arrival of Pepo to his bench is precisely the starting point of a transformation that is well-documented thanks to data and numbers.
Davidovich has improved in every aspect... starting with the mental side
If you feel more confident in yourself, you will perform better in important points and moments. To feel that confidence and security, you must have improved in your tennis, feeling supported by what your shots will do; in turn, your confidence in your shots will be determined by your bravery, your audacity, and your approach to these moments. The mental and the tennis aspects always go hand in hand, and Foki is a clear example of this: let's begin, however, with his historical Achilles' heel, his way of facing pressure points and important moments in a match.
Would the Davidovich of a year and a half ago have come back in the match against Tiafoe? And how about against Hurkacz? Instead of collapsing mentally after a couple of mistakes, Foki maintained his composure and staged comebacks with inexplicable scripts. Here comes the figure of Pepo Clavet and his new habits alongside the Madrid coach: countless chess games to cultivate patience, to be able to keep the focus on the next move (Ale himself acknowledges that sometimes he gets frustrated playing against someone "as defensive" as his coach). This renewed concentration and confidence has manifested very clearly after Clavet joined the team... and supports numbers that are inexplicable for the Foki of not long ago.
Since the Clavet-Davidovich tandem began operations during the grass tour, Davidovich has become one of the best tiebreak players on the circuit. He has played 14 tiebreaks and won 11, with a success rate of 78.6%, close to the best numbers of Alcaraz and Sinner. In Shanghai, he won all four tiebreaks he contested, against Tiafoe, Hurkacz, and Jódar: not bad for a guy who has lost very painful finals by this same method. More examples of what he can achieve mentally? Throughout the Asian Masters 1000, Foki also shone when facing break points against him: he saved 26 of 36, with a success rate of 72%, some of them in crucial moments of the matches (he saved 5 in the final set against Tiafoe). Now the pressure points are already 'Fokina territory'... because his tennis, of course, has improved exponentially.
Davidovich also dominates with his serve... and improves in everything
Looking at Foki's main metrics during this Asian tour shows us a renewed player. If we compile data from Chengdu, Tokyo, and Shanghai, he is better in absolutely everything: in returning (score of 7.2 vs an average of 6.7), with his forehand (an increase of one full point: 7.9 during the Asian tour, 6.9 up to now), with his backhand (from 7.4 to 7.9 last month) and in the points won from the baseline (56% in Asia, average of 50%). Where there is a significant improvement that has exponentially raised Davidovich's ceiling is in his serve.
Beyond the general score (from 7.5 to the current 7.9), there are two metrics by which Foki is now much more dangerous with his serve. First, his average speeds with the first serve have increased exponentially. For instance, open serves in the advantage area are now one of the deadliest weapons in his arsenal (and a good reason explaining how he has recently saved so many break points): he has increased from averaging 114 mph to 120 mph, almost 10 km/h more, allowing him to stay much more in control of the point. It’s not the only service he has improved in speed: he maintains the same average or greater in all serves, though this one is the most significant.
As important as precision is speed, and here we also see a clear improvement in Davidovich's serve. In this case, it is only applicable to open serves, but they are the best in his repertoire, the ones that come back less frequently and that he uses in the most critical moments of a match. With the open serve on the advantage side, Foki’s serves now land 2.1 cm closer to the line, going from an average separation of 78.7 cm to the current 76.6; the same happens with the open serve in the deuce area, which now lands on average at 59.8 cm from the line, compared to the 61.2 cm he has always averaged.
A serve he can rely on much more, which offers him more options and allows him to be well positioned above the baseline, especially in important moments; a global improvement in speed and security in his shots that has raised his competitive ceiling to new heights... and thanks to or as a consequence of all this, a greater calmness in pressure points, in total communion with a team that believes in him and has provided him with new routines that soothe his inner volcano. This is the new Davidovich, a transformed player who does not want his progression to end here. Goal? The top-10... and with these numbers, dreaming becomes more possible.
Data: Tennis Insights, Tennis VIZ.
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