"I sh*t myself" - Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on costly underarm serve during Wimbledon 3R defeat

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina recently opened up about his decision to employ the underarm serve during a crucial point in his third-round clash with Holger Rune at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Rune and Fokina locked horns in a thrilling five-set battle on Saturday, July 9, which saw the Dane claim a 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(10-8) victory after a nearly four-hour long contest. The 20-year-old saved two match points and recovered from a 5-8 deficit in the fifth set tiebreak to advance to the fourth round.

A dramatic moment took place at 8-8 in the deciding tiebreak, when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina opted for an underarm serve in order to catch Rune by surprise. However, his move backfired when the World No. 6 responded quickly to strike a return winner.

The Spaniard's decision to employ the underarm serve cost him dearly as Holger Rune served out the match on the next point. Following his defeat, Fokina shared his acceptance of the situation, admitting to losing his nerves during the crucial point.

"I have to accept what happened. I sh*t myself and I did not want to play that point," he told Relevo (translated from Spanish).

The Spaniard also expressed difficulty in articulating his thought process behind the underarm serve. He attributed this difficulty to the overwhelming headspace caused by nerves and the noise from the crowd at that moment.

"I cannot explain what is going through my mind there in that moment because a lot of things are going through your mind, everybody is shouting and you are nervous," he said.

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"I wouldn't have done it" - Holger Rune on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's underarm serve during Wimbledon 3R clash

Holger Rune defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at Wimbledon 2023

During his post-match press conference, Holger Rune asserted that Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's move was unexpected given the Spaniard's dominance on serve up until that point.

"Yeah, that was crazy. That was very unexpected, for sure. I don't know," Rune said. "In a way, it was nice, because he was serving really well during the match. But also, you know, it's pressure, because imagine I missed that one. That would feel awful."

The Dane revealed that he would not have gone for the underarm serve even if he had been leading at 8-5 in the tiebreak.

"No. No, I wouldn't do it. But again, every player has a different style. You know, I mean, if he made it, it would have been the right shot," he said.

Following his win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Holger Rune will take on the winner of the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round of Wimbledon 2023 on Monday, July 10.