Davidovich Fokina rules Shanghai

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won the Shanghai Masters 1000, beating fellow Spaniard Rafael Jódar 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the final. For the Spaniard, 27 and ranked No. 26 going into the tournament, it is the first Masters 1000 title of his career, won on a comeback after he took just one game in the first set.

The tournament, which began in 2009, had never had a Spanish singles champion. Close calls came from Rafael Nadal, beaten in the final in 2009 and 2017, David Ferrer and Roberto Bautista Agut, both beaten by Andy Murray. Davidovich was back in a Masters-level final for the first time since Monte-Carlo 2022, which he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Shanghai is the third ATP title of his career, all won in 2026: Mallorca and Chengdu came first.

Jódar, 20 and ranked No. 13, was playing his first Masters 1000 final and is the youngest finalist in the tournament's history. In the semifinal he beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4. The two Spaniards had never met on tour.

The final followed the script of Davidovich's semifinal. On Saturday the Málaga native lost the first set 7-5 to Alexander Zverev, the top seed, then won 6-4, 6-3. On Sunday he was overrun in the first set and dragged to a tie-break in the second, which he won 7-5 before taking the third 6-4. In two days he came back against Zverev, already guaranteed to finish 2026 as world No. 1, and against a Jódar who had also beaten Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals.