First Masters title: Davidovich Fokina turns around Shanghai final against Jódar
After losing the first set 6-1 and trailing by a break, the Spaniard wins 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. He rises to No. 13 in the rankings, Jódar is No. 11 and Djokovic drops out of the top 10.
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Video: YouTube · Tennis TV · youtube.com
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has won the Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai. The 27-year-old Spaniard, who knocked out top seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, beat compatriot Rafael Jódar 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in 2 hours 28 minutes on Sunday. He had trailed by a set and a break at 1-6, 2-3. According to AP, he sealed it on his second match point when Jódar could not return serve.
It is the biggest title of his career and his third this year after Mallorca and Chengdu. Davidovich Fokina had lost his first five tour-level finals, including the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters final; he has now won three finals in a row. "In the tie-break, I believed in myself again," he said, according to the ATP. Of Jódar he said: "He's an amazing player."
In the rankings published on Monday, Davidovich Fokina climbs from No. 26 to No. 13. Twenty-year-old Jódar is now No. 11, just outside the top 10, while Novak Djokovic drops to No. 12. Alexander Zverev remains No. 2 behind Jannik Sinner; Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov is No. 123.