At the Eastbourne Open earlier this year, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s temper once again lit up the court during his fiery win over Jakub Mensik. The Spaniard, chasing a semifinal berth, had just gone 5-4 down in the second set when he smashed his racket to the floor, earning a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. Furious over what he saw as injustice, he snapped, “I don’t accept that warning,” arguing heatedly that he’d thrown his racket outside the baseline. The crowd watched in uneasy silence as his anger flared, a familiar blaze for one of tennis’s most volatile talents. And now, that same storm has struck again at the Paris Masters against home favorite Arthur Cazaux.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina turned the Paris Masters into a cauldron of noise and emotion on Wednesday, not purely because of his tennis, but because of the fire that followed it. Facing Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, the Spaniard combined flair, resilience, and a dash of provocation to carve out a 7(7)-6(5), 6-4 victory that sent him into the next round. Yet it wasn’t his clean groundstrokes or tactical precision that dominated the post-match buzz; it was his celebration, one that drew equal parts shock and fury from the Parisian faithful.

As Cazaux’s final shot drifted just beyond the baseline, confirming Fokina’s triumph, the Spaniard dropped his racket and mimicked basketball icon Steph Curry’s signature “sleep” celebration, a gesture that instantly ignited the arena. The crowd erupted, but not in applause. Boos cascaded from every corner, echoing through the stadium as Fokina, unbothered and unbowed, walked toward the net with a smirk that only added fuel to the fire.

Fokina and Cazaux met at the net, their handshake tense but respectful amid the storm of jeers surrounding them. As the French crowd continued to vent its anger, Fokina doubled down, repeating the sleeping gesture with defiant calm. The boos only grew louder, yet the 26-year-old appeared to relish the chaos, feeding off the hostility rather than shrinking from it. With his hand raised and a spark in his eyes, he gestured toward the stands, soaking in the fury as though it were applause.

It wasn’t the first time the Spaniard had shown such audacious flair on court, but this time, under the bright Parisian lights, it was amplified. The crowd’s disapproval rolled on long after the last point, their voices rising in a sustained chorus of jeers as Fokina packed up his gear. 

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Meanwhile, Cazaux handled the tension with grace in his post-match remarks, offering a subtle dig while keeping his composure intact. “He made his little celebration at the end. Everybody reacts their own way,” the Frenchman said. “It’s never easy to have the public against you. That’s the way he reacted. I don’t know whether I would have reacted in the same way, but all I can do is shut up, because he played his match. He was better than I was. All I can say is bravo. It won’t be my fault if there is not very many French people behind him in the next rounds.”

For Fokina, the win marked his second triumph over a Frenchman in Paris, having earlier dispatched Valentin Royer in the round of 64. Each victory carried its own edge, but this one, charged by emotion, defiance, and crowd energy, felt personal.

Now, the Spaniard’s path turns sharply toward a colossal challenge. His next opponent is Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the No. 3 seed, a man known for his composure and counterpunching brilliance. And despite the heartbreak he endured at the Swiss Indoors days ago, Fokina arrives in Paris revived and raging, ready to channel that same storm against the towering German in a battle where tempers, talent, and tenacity will collide.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina hits back after Davis Cup team snub

Spain’s Davis Cup captain, David Ferrer, made his choices, and Carlos Alcaraz, Jaume Munar, Pedro Martínez, and Marcel Granollers were all confirmed for Bologna. Though a fifth player remains to be named, Davidovich Fokina revealed it won’t be him. For Ferrer, loyalty ruled; he picked the players who helped Spain qualify, alongside Alcaraz.

But for Fokina, it was a hard blow, one that tested his pride as much as his patience. Speaking openly to Marca, he didn’t mince words. “Being ranked number 18 in the world, I think I deserved to be among the four best players in my country, with all due respect to my teammates, who, as I said, are also great players. Now, my goal is to focus on the remainder of the season and prepare to reach the highest level next year.”

Earlier in the year, he had missed a few ties, yet his commitment to the Spanish flag never wavered. In his words, “David called me a week ago to inform me I would not be in the first list. Even before that call, I had told him he could count on me. It will always be a source of pride for me to represent Spain, but in the end it was his decision and I accepted it.”

The response was calm, mature, but it carried the quiet ache of a player who knows his worth. For someone burning with ambition, being left out wasn’t just a decision; it was a challenge.

Spain will now battle the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals without one of its most electric shot-makers. Yet as one door closes, another begins to open for Davidovich Fokina.

And with that hunger still alive, maybe Paris will be his redemption stage, a chance to remind the world, and his country, exactly what they’ve left behind.