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Alejandro Davidovich Fokina hit a costly underarm serve in the fifth set tie-break of his third-round defeat. John Walton/PA

Fokina loses after trying underarm serve at 8-8 in final set tie-breaker, has no regrets

Fokina’s gamble backfired, allowing Holger Rune to seal victory on the very next point.

ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA insisted he had no regrets despite an ill-advised underarm serve virtually handing victory to Holger Rune in their third-round clash at Wimbledon.

The Spaniard had let an 8-5 lead slip in the deciding first-to-10-point tie-break when, at 8-8, he decided to pull out an underarm serve, which sixth seed Rune easily put away before clinching a 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-4 7-6 (8) win on the next point.

Davidovich Fokina was unrepentant, though, calling the shot simply “another serve”. Asked if he would make the same decision again, he added: “Why not?”

The 24-year-old, who is ranked 34, insisted he would look back on the match positively, saying: “I won’t regret anything.

“I’m happy for this match that I did because I was struggling on grass and how I played today I convinced myself that I have a lot of things in myself.”

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