The new Davidovich: “I don’t waste time on my mobile, I do more productive things”

-I can’t afford those lows!-, he lamented, more desperate than angry, Alexander Davidovich talking to his coach, Jorge Aguirre.

-There is also doubt, let’s go!-, his coach whispered to the Malaga native, he was referring to his rival, case. Casper Ruud.

Davidovich, 4-5 down in the third set with the Norwegian serving to access the quarterfinals of Toronto Masters 1000, is on the very fine border between resignation and determination, the one whose best always crosses to the same side with an explosion of decision regardless of the degree of difficulty to win. I would end up crossing to that one this time 37 of the ATP ranking to celebrate his first victory against a top-10 on hard courts and celebrate his passage to the quarterfinals, where he awaits mackenzie mcdonaldbut he had his moments of intense inner conflict.

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With a drop-shot serve predicted by Ruud and two double faults followed by the man from Malaga, the world number 5 he broke Davidovich’s serve late in the second set and early in the third as well. That’s what he means when he complains to his trainer Alex, who is helpless in the face of Casper’s power and reliability.

“It has two parts. One is that I told my coach how angry I was to finish that match because of the lack of energy between the end of the second set and the beginning, when I sadder The game was ending, but another part of me was motivated, it gave me a lot of energy to continue and see if I closed it. Not giving a ball for lost and being there have given me the match”, Alejandro Davidovich reflected at the end of the clash.

Foki grabbed the match and then came the tie-break, another tough final this year where he competed everything to the end against the best but many have lost in one breath for an improvement mind management. They would have allowed themselves to be overshadowed by the fatal drop of serve that spoiled the end of the tiebreaker against Holger Rune in the third round of Wimbledon. For the memory of five wasted balls against the match Andrei Rublev in Dubai. But, with back-to-back wins over Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud as undeniable proof, a new Alexander is emerging.

“Those kinds of matches give you experience. It has been a tough battle, a lot happened (interruption due to rain and also attention from the physio to Foki), but I concentrated. I felt great, I didn’t feel tired physically or mentally. He looks like he can play two more sets, like a grand slam. Playing three sets is always very difficult, you win by details. It was a great victory”, highlights Davidovich, two serves-left in this duel against Ruud -one went well and the other not-, as a symptom of courage and courage rather than panic, the sincere- heart “I’m shit” where he justified the wrong choice of this resource at Wimbledon.

“But this time I didn’t do it in the tie-break, but in the calmer games,” joked Foki. “Matches like Rublev and that one at Wimbledon give you experience and you grow up and play harder,” Alex said.

This time, Jorge Aguirre’s student found the perfect balance between courage and temper to gradually weaken Casper through the Norwegian’s great weakness, the opposite. Often it’s a matter of shooting that side with more angle than power to keep him from turning to regain the initiative rightfully.

At times Ruud won every point so mathematically that he hit two more shots with that powerful forehand and his ‘top spin’ as if he had everything to lose against a player who hit as hard as him said Davidovich if he had to answer. than twice with your backhand. “A little more influence on his backhand? Yes, he is a very varied game, he became a finalist US Open and Roland Garros. You have to be in all the points and it is true that on the backhand it slackens a little more, but if you are in the top-5 you can’t be loose anywhere. But maybe (the key) is what happened there, yes”, analyzed ‘Foki’.

Despite the fact that the world number 37 underestimated Ruud’s weakness, the poor backhand was one of the most important factors explaining why the Norwegian lost all three Grand Slam finals he played, against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in 2022 and 2023 and three sets and last year’s US Open in four sets against Carlos Alcaraz.

A weakness exploited with precision by a Davidovich with an improved ability to strip his rivals of power but also happy reading game. In a conversation with ATP this week, the man from Malaga highlighted a decisive change for his maturation as a person and in the game and it had an effect on greater mental strength: the attitude of read. “Reading helped me especially in the tasks. The habit of not wasting time on mobile, because in the end it’s a waste of time and doing more productive things like reading or chess. Anything that’s more productive helps you to be more focused and calm and not overwhelmed by other stupid things,” says Foki.

And as Davidovich opens the books, the picture also opens for him in Toronto: most of the books have fallen. top-10, outside of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ruud himself, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe. The man from Malaga will now face Mackenzie McDonald, number 59 in the world, in the quarterfinals. Even if they are far away, there is a possibility that they will meet Carlos Alcaraz in a possible final, with Daniel Medvedev as a likely opponent in the semifinals to defeat the American.

“McDonald’s week was great. won Raonic. We played two years ago in Stockholm and it was a tough battle (win in 3 sets for the Spanish). It has improved and it will be a very good fight. Every year there is a higher level, number 100 in the world can beat 1, the level of tennis is improving, more boys are coming out”, said Davidovich, also referring to the surprises in Toronto. He is now one of them after beating Zverev and Ruud but he is looking to stop being one. Tennis is a lot. Davidovich wanted to confirm himself.