Davidovich Fokina Stuns Jodar to Win Shanghai Masters

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was down a set and a break, and he still walked off with the trophy. The Spaniard came back to beat countryman Rafael Jodar 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday for the first ATP Masters 1000 title of his career.

It is the biggest win of his life, and it caps a week full of escapes. Davidovich Fokina saved a match point against Frances Tiafoe in the third round, then came from a set down to beat both Hubert Hurkacz and top seed Alexander Zverev on the way to the final, per the ATP Tour.

Jodar owned the first set

Jodar, the 20-year-old 12th seed, carried every bit of his semifinal win over Daniil Medvedev into this one. He broke in the second game, cracked a clean backhand winner to break again for 5-1, and took the opener without facing a break point. The ATP noted he won all seven points that went longer than nine shots in that set.

Early in the second, it looked like the coronation was on. Jodar broke for 3-2. Davidovich Fokina answered right away, sprinting to the net to convert his second break point of the next game and ending up sprawled across the court.

From there he hung on with everything he had. He saved a break point to hold for 4-3, two more to hold for 5-4, and two more again to hold for 6-5. Then he won the tiebreak, just like he did against Zverev a day earlier.

The legs decided the third

The two traded breaks to open the decider, but Davidovich Fokina looked like the fresher player. He broke again in the fifth game and rode it home after two hours and 28 minutes.

"I have a blank mind. I don't know what to say and I don't know how I feel," he said. "Just a huge relief. In the third set, maybe I had a bit more fitness physically. He's an amazing player and it was very tough to play against him today."

This is a guy who lost his first five tour-level finals, including the 2022 Monte-Carlo final. He has now won his last three, after titles in Mallorca and Chengdu earlier this year. The Chengdu run came right after he missed two months with a back injury, and he is now on a 10-match winning streak in China.

He credited his team and his friend Arthur Fils, who also battled through a stop-start year. "If he could do it, I could do it too," Davidovich Fokina said.

What it means for both Spaniards

Davidovich Fokina climbs 13 spots to a career-high No. 13 when the rankings drop Monday. Jodar rises two places to a joint career-high No. 11.

A win would have sent Jodar into the top 10 for the first time, so that milestone waits. He still leaves China ninth in the Race to Turin, just inside the cut for the ATP Finals in his debut season.

For pick'em players, the lesson from this week is simple. Never count out Davidovich Fokina once he has dropped a set.

Jodar looked unstoppable for a set and a half on Sunday, and that kid is coming. But this one belongs to the guy who kept getting off the mat all week in Shanghai.