Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has been the American nightmare in Washington. Learner Tien, Taylor Fritz, and Ben Shelton all fell to the Spaniard’s charge at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Less than 24 hours after ousting Fritz in a 2 a.m. thriller, Davidovich Fokina returned to Rock Creek Park looking fresh and focused. He faced Shelton, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, and handled him in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, to book a spot in his third final of the season. But there was one eyebrow-raising call that could have lulled Shelton’s momentum. What does he have to say about that?
Shelton, who was playing in front of a home crowd, couldn’t quite find his rhythm. The 22-year-old struggled on serve, landing just 55% of his first serves and losing 42% of the points in his service games. That opened the door for Davidovich Fokina, who converted four of the six break points he earned. Shelton was broken twice in each set, while the Spaniard was only broken once in ten service games. He dropped just 14 points on serve and kept his level high from start to finish.
“He’s always solid. He makes a lot of balls. He moves well. He’s good at turning defense into offense on the move. Credit to him. I thought he played a great match—returned well, was solid from the baseline, played good aggressive tennis, and caused me to press and make a lot of unforced errors,” Shelton said in his post-match press conference. He also admitted, “I struggled with my serve from the start. I didn’t think that I was moving great and those two things kinda weighed on the rest of my game.”
Here are some of Ben Shelton’s immediate thoughts & quotes after his @mubadalacitidc loss to ADF in the SF
Thoughts about Alejandro’s tennis, his own assessment of what went wrong, and the no-let call at 5-5 2nd set
Check out the full audio of the interview in the TennisONE app pic.twitter.com/2uvoq1gO4a
— TennisONE App (@TennisONEApp) July 27, 2025
The second set did have a flashpoint. At 5-5, during Shelton’s service game, a clear let on serve went uncalled by the machine. Both players paused, but the umpire didn’t intervene, and play continued. The World No.8 cleared up whether the no-let call had any effect on his momentum. “It was tough. I mean it was a clear let. Foki stopped. I stopped. I think when it’s a let that clear, even if the machine doesn’t make the call, the umpire has got to make the call,” Shelton said. “That was a tough one. Can’t say I lost because of that cuz I still had an overhead, but yeah was unfortunate timing.”
With the win, Davidovich Fokina advances to face Alex de Minaur in Sunday’s final. It’s another opportunity for the Spaniard to chase his first ATP title. Meanwhile, Ben Shelton will head north to Toronto for the National Bank Open, looking for a reset and a fresh start.
Ben Shelton to move on to an open field at the Canada Open
The Masters 1000 event hasn’t had much luck drawing big names lately, thanks in part to injuries and the long 12-day format that replaced the old structure.
This year, the tournament field is missing Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Jack Draper, among others. For Ben Shelton, that opens a clear lane. He’s one of the Top 4 seeds at a Masters 1000 for the first time in his career and won’t have to face the usual gauntlet of these players. The draw could pit him against fellow Americans Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima. Both are tricky opponents, but this is the kind of opportunity the 22-year-old has been waiting for.
He reached the US Open semifinals in 2023, but 2025 offers a different kind of test. With a clear path in Toronto, he now has a shot to build real momentum ahead of New York. Ben Shelton has the tools. Now it’s about putting them together. With the heavyweights missing, can the American steal the spotlight in Toronto?
The post Ben Shelton Clears Thoughts on Controversial Chair Umpire Call That Cost Him DC Open Title appeared first on EssentiallySports.