Davidovich Fokina wins first Shanghai Masters title

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won his first ATP Masters 1000 title on October 18, defeating fellow Spaniard Rafael Jódar 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the Shanghai final after recovering from a set and a break down. The victory was the 27-year-old’s third ATP title of 2026 and the biggest of his career. Jódar, 20, controlled the opening set, breaking twice to take it 6-1, then went ahead by a break in the second. Davidovich Fokina responded with a break back and saved break points in three successive service games before taking the set in a tiebreak. In the deciding set, the players traded early breaks before Davidovich Fokina broke again and closed out the match in two hours and 27 minutes. The result ended a run of five losses in Davidovich Fokina’s first five career finals. His other titles this season came in Mallorca and Chengdu. He reached the Shanghai final by beating top seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, also after losing the first set. After the win, Davidovich Fokina described the season as difficult, saying injuries had kept him out for two months and led him to skip additional tournaments. He credited fellow player Arthur Fils with encouraging him, saying Fils had missed...