Davidovich Fokina fights back against Jodar to win Shanghai Masters title

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina came back from a set and a break down to beat fellow Spaniard Rafael Jodar 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday, 18 October 2026. The victory in Shanghai gave him the biggest title of his career after Jodar had threatened to take the match in straight sets.

How Davidovich Fokina turned the Shanghai final around

Jodar broke for a 2-0 lead in the opening set and broke again to take it 6-1, Reuters reported. He then moved a break ahead in the second. Davidovich Fokina recovered that break but faced break points in three successive service games before forcing a tiebreak.

“Just a huge relief,” Davidovich Fokina said after the match, according to Reuters. He said he had kept pushing after the first set, regained belief in the tiebreak and felt he might have had a physical advantage in the third set.

What the title means for Davidovich Fokina

The win was Davidovich Fokina's third ATP singles title, all won this season. Reuters reported that his earlier titles came at ATP 250 events in Chengdu and Mallorca. DPA reported that he had lost his first five ATP Tour finals, including four last year, before his run of titles in 2026.

Davidovich Fokina, the 25th seed in Shanghai, was set to rise 13 places to a career-high world ranking of 13 when the new rankings were released on Monday, Reuters reported. DPA said he had beaten top seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals; NewsJaws also covered that earlier victory in its report on Davidovich Fokina reaching the Shanghai Masters final.

For Jodar, 20, the defeat ended a landmark week. Reuters described him as the youngest finalist in Shanghai tournament history. He had been ranked outside the world's top 900 little more than a year earlier, and this final was the first meeting between the two Spaniards.