Alejandro Davidovich Fokina climbs Great Wall of China; world wonder eludes Daniil Medvedev

Great Wall, meet Great Fall!

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina made the arduous climb necessary to visit the Great Wall of China in his first trip to Beijing, sharing pictures from the adventure on his Instagram.

“After suitable rest we explore the Great Wall of China,” joked Foki, whose China Open campaign ended with a late-night defeat to Alexander Zverev.

The tennis world is back in China for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, making it the first time many current top players are traveling to the second-most populous country in the world.

Despite plenty to explore off the court, former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev is yet to find time for the Great Wall, having surged into his first China Open final on Tuesday with a straight-set win over Zverev.

“I would love to go to the Great Wall, for sure. It's far and you have to walk. I don't know if I will have the time this year. Hopefully not!” joked Medvedev earlier in the week. “That's how tennis is. When you come to new city, new tournament, whatever, you hope you're not going to have to really do sightseeing.”

Still, the 2021 US Open champion won’t leave China completely unexamined, visiting the Beijing Olympic Tower with fellow players Casper Ruud, Elena Rybakina, and Zheng Qinwen and a few other sights off the court.

“Yesterday was my day off, so I spent 15-20 minutes in Summer Palace. It was really nice. I would love to have more time to walk around and visit it more.”

Foki will have to tell Medvedev all about the Wall when the two travel to Shanghai next week.