Miomir Kecmanovic came back from the brink in Sunday's Delray Beach Open final, saving two match points and winning the last five games in a thrilling 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The Serbian claimed his second tour-level singles title and his first on hard courts by winning his 11th match of the 2025 ATP Tour season — tied for most on Tour along with Alex de Minaur.
Davidovich Fokina was an inch away from the title when he missed for a booming forehand just wide at the end of a lung-busting rally at 5-2, 15/40 in the third set. It could have been a fitting end to what had been a masterful final set to that moment. Instead, the Spaniard's effort on that point for no reward seemed to take the wind out of his sails, allowing Kecmanovic a second life. The Serbian took full advantage of his opportunity, claiming his first ATP Tour title since his maiden triumph in Kitzbuhel in 2020.
"It feels unbelievable to win after losing two finals before and then down 5-2, match points. It was an amazing feeling and I'm so proud of myself," said Kecmanovic, who finished runner-up in Delray Beach and Estoril in 2023.
"It's an unbelievable week," he added. "I've worked so hard, I've done everything I could right. It didn't happen for a long time, but I kept believing and I'm so happy to finally win another title."
FIVE years in the making! 🇷🇸@MioKecmanovic clinches a second career title after Kitzbuhel 2020@DelrayBeachOpen 📸 (Andrew Patron) | #DBOpen pic.twitter.com/8smCN5Xhzn
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 16, 2025
The 25-year-old Serbian was rock solid down the stretch in the championship as Davidovich Fokina continued to rip his forehand at every opportunity, missing the mark too often. While the Spaniard fought back from 30/0 with some baseline blasts in the final game, Kecmanovic stayed the course to improve to 3-0 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series. He was helped over the line by eight aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Up 12 places this week to No. 42 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Kecmanovic is the first Serbian to win an ATP Tour hard-court title since Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. The former World No. 27 will return to the Top 50 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday for the first time since August.
The two-hour, 10-minute final victory did not complete Kecmanovic's work in Delray Beach: After a brief rest, he will be back on the stadium court alongside Brandon Nakashima, taking on Americans Christian Harrison and Evan King for the doubles title.
The 25-year-old Davidovich Fokina was denied his first tour-level title by the slimmest of margins. His run to his second tour-level final went through two-time defending champion Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals and fourth seed Matteo Arnaldi in the semis.
