It was his third comeback of the week after beating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the fourth round and German top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals. He became the fourth player to win his first Masters 1000 title with comeback wins in both the semifinals and finals. The other three are American Michael Chang in Toronto in 1990, Sweden’s Thomas Johansson in Montreal in 1999 and Russia’s Andrei Rublev in Monte Carlo in 2023.
Davidovich Fokina’s run at the Rolex Shanghai Masters began with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over American Jenson Brooksby before he saved a point to beat American No. 7 Francis Tiafoe 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (6). He reached the semi-finals when France’s Arthur Gea withdrew after trailing 4-1 at the end.
From five lost finals to a perfect 2026
The title took a complete turn in the finale. Davidovich Fokina lost the first top five of his career in 2022 in Monte Carlo and in 2025 in Delray Beach, Acapulco, Washington and Basel.
Tennis has since offered him redemption. He is now three for three in finals this season after titles in Mallorca and Chengdu. He became the fifth man to win at least three titles in 2026 and extended his winning streak in China to 10 matches. His win also sealed American Ben Shelton’s place in the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive season.
How Jodar’s legs gave way in the Shanghai final
Jodar dominated the opening set, breaking in the second and sixth games to take it 6-1 on his first set point. When he broke again at 3-2 in the second set, he took a set and break lead.
Davydovich Fokina broke straight back and the set turned into a battle of long deuce games. The Spaniard saved five break points in three service games at 3-3. In the tiebreak, Djodar led 4-3 before Davydovic Fokina earned a point on his serve at 5-5 and converted his first set point to level the match.
The decider opened with a break each, Davydovic Fokina saving his third break point in the first game and Dzodar his fourth in the second. Davydovich Fokina broke again at the first opportunity for 3-2, didn’t face another break point and served out the match on his second match point.
Jodar showed signs of fatigue as the match wore on, after a campaign full of three-set matches. He was out of sets in four of his five matches and spent 11 hours and 20 minutes on court before the final, compared to his opponent’s 8 hours and 28 minutes. He also twisted his ankle right at the end.
The 13th-ranked 20-year-old will still climb to 11th on Monday to become the first man born in 2006 to reach the Masters 1000 final. But the loss cost him a top 10 debut, the youngest title in tournament history and an important opportunity to join the fight for Turin.
He beat Argentinian Thiago Agustin Tirante 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, Czech No. 22 Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, Dutch Bottic van de Zandschulp 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, Norwegian 4-6, 6-4. Casper 2, 6-7, 4-6, 6-2, Norwegian Casper 2. 6-3 and Russia’s No. 5 Daniil Medvedev: 6-3, 6-4.
