Alejandro Davidovich Fokina notched his first-ever win in Basel, having fallen in the opening round in 2022, by defeating Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets this week. His next challenge is to string together back-to-back wins, something he has not managed since the retirement at the Toronto Masters in August.
This has been Davidovich Fokina’s most consistent and successful season to date, but his momentum was disrupted midway through the year due to injury during the US Open swing. He retired twice during that period, in Toronto and Cincinnati, which has negatively affected his performance and results since. As a result, he has won only five of his last 11 matches.
Nevertheless, his strong work earlier this year has been handsomely rewarded, reaching a career-high ranking of #18. Finishing the year inside the top 20 would mark an excellent conclusion to the season. This is an achievable target, especially considering he won only one main-draw match during last year’s European indoor swing, meaning he does not need any monumental results to accumulate ranking points in the coming weeks.
After a successful comeback to the Asian swing following a two-year absence, Jenson Brooksby continued his momentum with a winning return to the European indoor season, defeating Alexandre Muller in straight sets in the first round in Basel. This marked his first match in this phase of the season since 2022.
The last time the American won a match on indoor hard courts was in Dallas three years ago, in 2022, where he went all the way to the final before finishing as runner-up to Reilly Opelka, a run that remains his career-best on indoor hard courts. He has also shown his ability on European indoor events, reaching the semifinals in Antwerp as a qualifier in 2021, defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina along the way.
Head-to-head: Jenson Brooksby leads 1-0. Davidovich Fokina has had a more productive 2025 and enters this match as the favorite. Still, his form has been uneven since his recent retirements, which opens the door for Brooksby to compete strongly and keep the contest evenly poised.
