‘Looked like he wanted to kill me’ — Mariano Puerta opens up on Davidovich Fokina Fallout
The saga between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and his recently departed coach Mariano Puerta has taken a fresh twist.
The Spaniard claimed his coach had “abandoned” him following his first-round win over Damir Dzumhur at the French Open and flew to Miami without saying a word.
After his second-round loss to Thiago Agustin Tirante, the 21st seed said, “We didn’t fight. Everything was normal. After the match against Dzumhur, we had lunch, and after that I went to cool down. He said he was feeling bad and was going to the hotel.
“He didn’t say anything to anybody, to the team, he just took the flight and he flew to Miami without saying a word to us. My wife even called [him] on the telephone, me too, so I don’t know. He goes on with his life and I with mine. If he acts like this at 45 years old, well, they’re his decisions.
“I don’t wish him badly. I hope things go well if he starts working with another player. After this they will know to take care and even better that he will abandon them in the worst moment.”
Now, in an interview with Punto de Break, former French Open finalist Puerta, who was twice hit with doping bans during his career, has given his side of the story.
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Puerta explained how his patience was at breaking point when he arrived in Paris, less than six months into their coaching partnership.
The Argentine said how the 26-year-old was showing no signs of improvement when it came to working on the mental and emotional side of his game. And then, against Dzumhur, their relationship took a nosedive.
“Something nasty happened in the fourth or fifth set. At a point in the match when I was trying to cheer him on, when I wanted to give him a push so he wouldn’t lose focus, Alex turned round with a look on his face as if he was going to kill me: ‘Can’t you see I’m tired? That I can’t move? Don’t say another word to me!’ He said it in a way that still hurts,” claimed Puerta.
The 47-year-old said he let that one slide and just when he was coming towards the end of his tether, Davidovich Fokina allegedly pushed him over the edge.
Puerta continued, “While he was out cycling, I was sitting in the restaurant with his manager. I made it very clear to him: ‘Today is my last day; I feel awful, I’ve got palpitations’. I don’t know if it was the sun, the pressure or the bad blood caused by what had happened, but I felt completely drained.
“The problem is that conversation [the next day] never actually happened. The next day I was at the hotel, chilling, 10.30 in the morning. Suddenly someone from his team calls me: ‘Alex says to sort out your own flight ticket, find it yourself and pay for it. You can go to Miami’.
“That set everything off; I was frozen to the spot. Two hours later I snapped out of it, blocked him on my mobile, blocked his wife too, packed my suitcase, checked out of the hotel and that was that.
“By the way, that very same message I sent to him, I also sent to every member of the team a few minutes later, so they’d know what I’d sent to Alex. I’ve got a reply from every single one of them: they all congratulated me.”
One big point of contention was Davidovich Fokina’s claim that Puerta left without saying a word. While the former world No 9 – who took to social media to share a photo of him flying to Miami earlier this week – acknowledged the Spaniard can suffer from “bouts of temporary madness”, calling him dishonest was a step too far.
When it was put to him that Puerta didn’t explain his reasons for leaving, the Cordoba native replied, “That’s a lie; that’s not how it was. The reasons are all in that message. In fact, I began the text by telling him that I wasn’t the right coach for him. I always think of the player; with Alex, there was a clear area he needed to improve, but I wasn’t managing to bring about that change in him.
“And on the other hand, I was starting to feel unwell; I’d grown very fond of this lad, but I didn’t want to end up getting sick. The whole text is written with respect and love; I offered him my perspective on everything that could help him improve… honestly, I don’t deserve everything he said or what happened.”
Davidovich Fokina, who split up with coach Felix Mantilla following a 2025 season where he finished runner-up in four ATP Tour finals, may have one or two things to say about Puerta’s comments here.
And while there could be more back and forth in this saga, Puerta stressed he holds no ill will towards his former charge.
“The thing is, I’m not here to speak ill of Alex; I’m 47 years old and I’m not going to stoop to the level of a 26-year-old lad. I felt it was important to clear up this whole matter and, honestly, I really hope that in some way it might help him,” he said.
“I gave it my all; I always commit myself fully to every player, even putting my personal life aside. I made many trips, made many sacrifices, and dealt with a lot of stress. Alex is a brilliant lad; he’s in tremendous physical shape. I could spend a whole day saying good things about him.”
Puerta added that they have spoken since Davidovich Fokina’s press conference and that he had no choice but to go public following the tennis player’s outburst.
He added, “Yes, he sent me a message yesterday morning. I’d sent him one the night before, to which he replied very nicely.
“I told him I had no choice but to come forward and explain what happened, to give my side of the story. I think he realised his mistake; otherwise, there’s no way he’d have sent me that message yesterday. The problem is that it was clear he wanted to hurt me at that press conference.”
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