Alejandro Davidovich’s words convey disbelief. The Spaniard, already eliminated from Roland Garros at the moment he explains himself in front of reporters, lets out a weak chuckle because, he conveys, he still can’t quite believe it. At that time, his (ex)coach, the Argentine Mariano Puerta, has already taken a plane to Miami. “We had a very good relationship, there were never any tensions or problems… He even blocked the phone for both me and my wife. But I don’t want to give it any more importance…,” the man from Malaga states after falling to Thiago Agustín Tirante (6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1 and 6-3, in 2h 52m) and thus extending his bad streak at the French Grand Slam, where he has not managed to get past the second round in his last three appearances. Paris and him, like water and oil. He hasn’t found the key to the tournament nor to this season, which has so far been elusive.
Read more Paz enacts the law authorizing the Armed Forces’ intervention in protests in Bolivia
For some time now, Davidovich (26 years old) has been riding an emotional roller coaster that he tries to control, in search of that stability that eludes him and never quite arrives. He is no longer a promise, but a fully-fledged tennis player — with 326 matches behind him — who continues to gradually approach theoretical professional maturity. He is 23rd in the world, firmly in the top tier of the ranking for a year now and, therefore, one of the few who have managed to earn a privileged position. However, he conveys a sense of stagnation. Also of mystery. He doesn’t fall, despite the modest results this season, but he also hasn’t managed to achieve that upturn that would lead him back to the realm of hope.
This Wednesday, France TV reported early on, during a doubles match broadcast, that the Spaniard has broken with his coach. The message is blunt. The day before there was tension, apparently a clash. “After the match against Dzumhur [on Monday] we had lunch and then I went to calm down a bit. He said he felt bad and went to the hotel. Everything seemed normal, he was tired…”. “Nothing happened between us or within the team, but two or three hours later he sent me a message saying he would not continue. The problem is that he didn’t tell anyone. He simply took a flight and left without saying a word to us,” adds the Andalusian, a cyclothymic competitor who broke with almost everything in 2025.
He ended the relationship with his lifelong coach, Jorge Aguirre, and got married. “You have to hit rock bottom to know you don’t want to be there anymore,” he told this newspaper just over a year ago, when Félix Mantilla was still coaching him. A few days earlier, in Monte Carlo, the coach had left in the middle of the match against Jack Draper because of his player’s attitude. “I regret it.” “My mind was whispering a lot of crap to me…”. “And I wasn’t able to respect myself or my coach,” he reproached himself. At the end of the season, they parted ways. By then he had already accumulated several hits; blessed hits, translated into finals, but hits nonetheless: four occasions, four defeats. Another failed attempt the previous year was added.
Read more Education requests 100% minimum services for PAU evaluators during the Valencian educational strike
Time for Clavet
Then he entrusted himself to Puerta, a tennis player who once came close to glory, had he not faced a rookie Nadal in the 2005 Roland Garros final. With him on the bench, Davidovich has not shown overly hopeful signs, with the Adelaide semifinal as the most fruitful run in 2026. And now comes the crack. Action-reaction. Abrupt goodbye and the player’s strong response. Without beating around the bush.
“After [what happened] I heard he had done this before with other players, so it seems normal for him,” he introduces. “I’m not going to chase after anyone if they decide to leave and not continue until the end of the tournament. It’s not my problem. He’s a 47-year-old adult and can make his own decisions. That’s when I understood that maybe the mistake was mine for hiring him…”. “As a person, he failed the whole team.” “We didn’t fight,” he assures. “Nothing can surprise me anymore. Many things have happened to me throughout my career. I thought he was a very good person.” “He lives his life and I live mine. I don’t wish him anything bad. He was a good person until this happened. If he works with another player, after this press conference they will know that maybe he can leave in difficult moments,” he concludes.
Puerta had his moment of glory in 2005, but at the end of that year he was banned for two years for doping — initially it was eight. Davidovich, for his part, will prepare the grass-court tour with Pepo Clavet, whom he had already integrated into the team in mid-April. “Obviously, I’m not made of stone. He told me on Sunday and at least I had two days to digest it. It probably affected me subconsciously, but it’s also true that we hadn’t trained enough to endure five sets: I was injured, I spent a month out, I haven’t played many matches…,” the Spaniard closes, protagonist of a relentless career shaped like a sawtooth. Like his tennis.
