Shanghai Masters: Davidovich Fokina comes back on Jodar to crown his first Masters 1000

The Rolex Shanghai Masters closed on Sunday with an all-Spanish final and the biggest title of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's career: the Malaga native came back from a set and a break down to beat Rafael Jodar 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in 2 hours and 28 minutes and lift his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy, his third of the season after Mallorca and Chengdu. Davidovich Fokina, who had lost his only previous Masters 1000 final (Monte-Carlo 2022), delivered the biggest week of his career in the most improbable fashion: coming back from a set down for the third time in seven days.

The final: one more escape

Davidovich Fokina reached the title match after a week of survival, and on Sunday he repeated the script taken to the extreme. Jodar — fresh from taking down Medvedev in the semi-finals — came out flying: he broke in the second game, broke again with a clean backhand winner down the line for 5-1 and took the opening set without facing a single break point, winning all seven points longer than nine shots in the set.

At 1-6, 2-3 down, Davidovich Fokina found his usual way out: he sprinted to the net to convert his second break point, ended up sprawled across the court in trademark fashion, and from there held firm at the key moments — saving a break point for 4-3, two more for 5-4 and another two for 6-5 — before winning the tie-break just as he had against Zverev in the semis. In the third set, after an early exchange of breaks, Davidovich broke again in the fifth game and never let go, closing the match having converted 3 of 7 break points.

"I don't have any words right now. I have a blank mind. It's a huge relief," said the champion, who devoted part of his press conference to his team after a tough year: two months out with a back injury plus other setbacks that forced him to skip tournaments. "I remember Arthur Fils, a very good friend of mine who also skipped a lot of tournaments this year. He came back stronger, winning matches. That gave me a lot of power: if he could do it, I could do it too."

The week of escapes

The Shanghai title sums up the new champion's character — and the final was no exception.

• Third round: a match point saved against Frances Tiafoe.
• Quarter-finals: a comeback from a set down against Hubert Hurkacz.
• Semi-final: another set-down comeback against Alexander Zverev (1), 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, with the German saving two match points (15-40 in the eighth game) before falling on the third. Zverev, who had already locked up year-end No. 1, admitted the toll: "I was flat, even winning the first set. I've played too much tennis and carried fatigue; I'm okay to lose to a player like this."

With the title, Davidovich Fokina is now on a 10-match winning streak on Chinese soil (Chengdu + Shanghai) and completes the confirmation of his comeback: he returned in late September after two months out with the back injury, won Chengdu and now this. He lost his first five tour-level finals, including the Monte-Carlo 2022 Masters; he has won the last three. On Monday he rises 13 spots to a career-high No. 13 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Jodar, knocking on the Top 10 door

The tournament's other big story remains Rafael Jodar's. The 20-year-old, who started the season ranked 168th, played his first Masters 1000 final after sweeping past Daniil Medvedev (5) in the semi-finals: 6-3, 6-4, with the Russian saving three match points serving at 3-5 down in the second set before Jodar closed it out on serve with a forehand winner down the line. "It was not easy, I was a bit tired, but that's part of the game; he managed it better than me," admitted Medvedev, who did not hesitate with the tag: "He's top 10. It's not like he's 60 in the world and we're starting to talk about it."

With the defeat, Jodar narrowly misses the Top 10 debut the title would have sealed: he climbs two spots to No. 11, matching his career high, and leaves China ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, just inside the qualification cut for the Nitto ATP Finals. His racket, the Head Speed MP 2026from 195,49 € he shares a family with Djokovic, already has a page in the catalogue.

The final's rackets

• Rafael Jodar — Head Speed MP 2026from 195,49 € (his player page): the Speed MP he took to his first Masters 1000 final.
• Davidovich Fokina — Head Extreme MP: the champion's racket (verified on iq.tennis this season) does not have a page in the catalogue yet; Head's Extreme padel range is a different family.
• Alexander Zverev — Head Gravity Tour Zverev 2026from 228,95 € (his page): the year-end No. 1 fell in the semis with his limited edition; he returns in Vienna, where he could meet Alcaraz.
• Daniil Medvedev — Tecnifibre TFight 305Sfrom 209,99 € (his page): the 2019 champion bowed out in the semis.
• And the match point that started it all: Frances Tiafoe — Yonex Percept 97from 219,99 €, one point from knocking out the future champion in the third round. Tommy Paul — Yonex VCORE 98 (8th gen)from 236,95 € completed the last eight in the quarter-finals.

In doubles, the title went to Austrians Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner, who beat Francisco Cabral and JJ Tracy 6-3, 6-4.