ATP 500 Washington: De Minaur Too Strong for Moutet, Davidovich Fokina Surprises Shelton

After the women's semifinals, it was time for the men's final four in Washington. Lucky loser Corentin Moutet, who had stunned Daniil Medvedev in the previous round, was aiming to reach his second final of the season—this time in an ATP 500 event—but the task proved daunting against Alex De Minaur.

Comfortable on the return, the Australian broke his opponent five times in the match. Though he was broken in his last two service games, the world No. 13 had already done the hard work, pulling away with a 4-0 lead in the second set.

A finalist in Rotterdam earlier this season, De Minaur will now chase his 10th ATP Tour title—his first since 's-Hertogenbosch a year ago on Dutch grass. As for Moutet, he can take solace in knowing he will break into the top 50 for the first time in his career after this tournament.

In the other semifinal, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Ben Shelton battled for the second and last spot in the final. After winning his previous match at 2 a.m. against Taylor Fritz, the Spaniard still had enough energy to frustrate the last remaining American in the draw. For the third time in as many meetings, the world No. 26 got the better of Shelton (6-2, 7-5).

Davidovich Fokina will now contest his third ATP Tour final of the season—his fourth overall. Having fallen short in Delray Beach and Acapulco, he will aim to claim his first career title this Sunday against Alex De Minaur.

In their head-to-head record, he leads the Australian 3-2, but De Minaur has won their only two meetings on hard courts—including their most recent clash in the semifinals of the 2023 Toronto Masters.