Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is knocked out of the French Open. He then reports on his coach’s scandalous actions.
His second-round exit from the French Open almost took a back seat for Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. After all, the tennis star from Spain had experienced some unbelievable days leading up to his loss to Thiago Agustín Tirante (6-4, 6-7, 1-6, 3-6).
That’s because: During the tournament, he was abandoned by his coach and then blocked on WhatsApp.
It all began after he won his opening match against Damir Dzumhur (6-7, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3) two days earlier.
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There, the world No. 23 had once again shown his tremendous fighting spirit and won a marathon match in the Parisian heat. For his coach, Mariano Puerta, that was apparently far from enough.
Davidovich Fokina reported at the press conference: After the match, “we had lunch, and afterward I calmed down a bit. Then Puerta initially just said ‘that he felt bad. Then he went back to the hotel.’
It was the duo’s last meeting. ‘Two hours later, I received a long message from him saying he wouldn’t be coming back. Then he took a flight to Miami without informing the team,’ the right-hander said of his coach.
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He continued: “There was no argument with Puerta. We had a very good relationship. Now he’s blocked both me and my wife. Until now, I’d considered him a good person. I don’t wish him any harm, but I hope that future players are cautious when working with Puerta.”
The pro also explained, somewhat incredulously, that the collaboration hadn’t even been mutually terminated. “I’m not going to chase after him,” he emphasized. “I don’t know if I’ll even respond to his message. As a person, he has failed.”
Puerta, meanwhile, is anything but a blank slate. The 47-year-old was once a professional himself and, as a left-hander, was particularly feared on clay. He reached the final of the French Open in 2005 against Rafael Nadal and was convicted of doping a few months later. After his suspension, he never returned to the world’s elite.