Davidovich Fokina carves path to Adelaide semis
Under Adelaide’s evening glare, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina turns Vacherot’s aces into openings, his angles sharpening a title chase marked by past heartbreaks. As semis loom, tactical returns and injury rebounds set the stage for hard-court drama.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina‘s drive for a first ATP Tour title picked up steam Thursday evening at the Adelaide International. The 26-year-old Spaniard, top seed for the first time in his career, faced down Valentin Vacherot’s punishing serve to secure a 7-6(4), 6-2 win and advance to the semi-finals. Carrying the weight of five prior finals—including two in 2025 where championship points evaporated—this victory felt like a deliberate step forward on the event’s grippy hard courts.
Davidovich Fokina absorbed 15 aces from the reigning Shanghai champion, drawing parallels to facing a prime John Isner. His returns deepened as the match wore on, mixing heavy topspin to jam Vacherot’s body and low slices to disrupt rhythm. The tiebreak turned on precise footwork, forcing errors that opened the court for inside-out forehands kissing the lines.
“I knew his serve was amazing,” Davidovich Fokina said of Vacherot, who hit 15 acesaccording to ATP Stats. “I tried my best to return his serve… It was like playing against [John] Isner. The key was to be focused and I [have] improved my level every game.”
On a roll! @alexdavidovich1 takes out Vacherot in straight sets to reach the Adelaide semi-finals!@AdelaideTennis | #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/sXOzB1Dn7g
On a roll! @alexdavidovich1 takes out Vacherot in straight sets to reach the Adelaide semi-finals!@AdelaideTennis | #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/sXOzB1Dn7g
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 15, 2026
Redirecting power through sharp returns
Davidovich Fokina’s adaptation shone against Vacherot’s flat bombs, which exploited the surface’s moderate speed but faltered under sustained pressure. He targeted return points with one–two patterns off his own serve—deep crosscourt backhands setting up down-the-line winners—that pulled the Monegasque wide and induced unforced errors. Into his 12th career semi-final, the Spaniard now eyes fourth seed Ugo Humbert, who dispatched qualifier Alexander Shevchenko 6-0, 6-3 in 57 minutes, unleashing 32 winners with penetrating groundstrokes.
Humbert’s left-handed spin could test Davidovich Fokina’s forehand side, demanding varied depths and more underspin to counter the Frenchman’s inside-in replies. Their even head-to-head suggests early crosscourt exchanges, where the Spaniard’s angle play might force Humbert to overhit on these predictable bounces. A win would mark progress toward shedding those 2025 ghosts, with Adelaide’s conditions mirroring the Australian Open’s demands.
Paul rebuilds rhythm post-injury
Across the draw, second seed Tommy Paul dispatched local favorite Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2, reaching his third semi-final at this ATP 250 event. The American, sidelined by a foot injury through the final three months of 2025, returned in Brisbane before finding his stride here, blending flat slices with net rushes that kept Vukic pinned. Paul’s game thrives on the consistent court speed in Australia, allowing his quick transitions to disrupt baseline grinders.
“I’m just happy to be back out here. It was a long end of the year for me, and to be back in Australia playing great tennis, I’m really happy,” Paul said. “All the tournaments in Australia, they do a good job of keeping most of the courts the same speed, and they seem to match up with my game.”
Next, Paul faces eighth seed Tomas Machac, who edged Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-4 for his first semi-final since the Acapulco title last February. The Czech holds a 2-1 head-to-head lead, including a win over Paul in Rome last year, and arrives unbeaten in sets through three Adelaide matches. Machac’s steady probing from the backcourt could challenge Paul’s approaches, but the American’s 2023 Australian Open semi-final run hints at his potential to reclaim top form.
Surface synergies shape title contenders
Machac snapped a winless streak since October’s Shanghai opener with dominant straight-sets victories, his inside-in forehands exploiting the court’s grip for lift and control. Against Paul, expect rallies favoring depth over width, where the Czech’s topspin variety might neutralize the American’s flatter shots. Rankings implications loom large: Paul eyes a top-10 return, while Machac builds momentum ahead of the Australian Open.
For Davidovich Fokina, this semi-final against Humbert tests his evolved focus, redirecting power rather than matching it. The crowd’s energy, building from murmurs to roars under the lights, underscores the shift from past pressures to present poise. As these matchups unfold, every return and angle will decide who carries title hunger into the final, priming the hard-court swing with tactical precision.
