SHANGHAI — Alejandro Davidovich Fokina recovered from a poor start to defeat Rafael Jodar 1–6, 7–6 (7–5), 6–4 on October 18, claiming his first ATP Masters 1000 championship.

The all-Spanish final lasted two hours and 28 minutes at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, according to the tournament’s official match report.

Second-set recovery

Davidovich Fokina lost the opening set and fell a break behind at 2–3 in the second. He recovered that break, took the set in a tiebreak and secured the decisive break in the fifth game of the final set.

The 27-year-old had already survived a match point against Frances Tiafoe earlier in the tournament. His route to the final also included comeback victories over Hubert Hurkacz and Alexander Zverev.

Shanghai gives him a third tour-level title this season, following Mallorca and Chengdu. His return from a back injury has now produced ten consecutive wins in China.

Jodar’s breakthrough season

The result ends another deep run for Jodar, 20, who beat Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. Canadian tennis followers saw him reach the Montreal semifinals earlier this season, a milestone also noted in the tournament’s official final preview.

Sources: Rolex Shanghai Masters / Andy West, official final report, October 18; ATP Staff / tournament final preview, October 17.

Lead image: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the U.S. Open on August 30, 2023. File photograph by Andy M. Wang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not a photograph of the Shanghai final. Original photograph retained; any Instagram resizing or padding is supplied under the same licence.