Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has taken a swipe at his former coach, Mariano Puerta, after the 47-year-old blocked him and his wife on social media. The Spaniard, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time, made a brutal 13-word statement about Puerta's behavior.
Davidovich Fokina's Reaction to Puerta's Block
Puerta, a former French Open finalist, blocked Davidovich Fokina and his wife, Paloma Amatiste, after leaving the player's team during the French Open. Davidovich Fokina responded sharply: "If he acts like this, in his forties, well, those are his decisions."
The 25-year-old insisted there was no specific incident that caused the split. "We had a very good relationship. Nothing ever happened, not a single tense moment, nothing at all," he said. "In fact, he's even blocked my wife on his phone, and me too. So, I don't want to make a big deal out of it. In the end, he lives his life, and I live mine."
Puerta's Side of the Story
Puerta offered a different account, citing Davidovich Fokina's emotional behavior on court. "After six months with Alex, the reality is that the player still wasn't showing any improvement in an area where the entire team had unanimously asked him to start working. I'm referring to the mental and emotional aspect," Puerta told Punto de Break.
He added: "Alex is a player who, when he's on the court, is very intense, very emotional, and can often have reactions that are a bit out of line. Perhaps bordering on disrespect. ... It's not easy to deal with this when it happens constantly, so after almost 20 weeks of travelling with him, there came a point where I needed to make a cut if I didn't want to end up getting sick."
Davidovich Fokina's Personal Life and Wimbledon Run
Davidovich Fokina married fashion designer Paloma Amatiste in June 2025, shortly before Wimbledon. Fellow tennis star Arthur Fils was a witness. Amatiste described the wedding as "the best day of our lives" in an interview with ATPTour.com.
On Sunday, Davidovich Fokina faces third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on Court 1 as he continues his best-ever Wimbledon campaign.
