Shanghai final: Davidovich Fokina to face Jodar

Shanghai will have an all-Spanish final. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Rafael Jodar play for the Masters 1000 title today, having reached the last act by getting past two of the heaviest names in the draw: Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, both inside the top ten.

The two semi-finals tell different stories. Jodar beat Medvedev 6-3 6-4 without dropping a set. Davidovich Fokina had to come from behind: after losing the first set 5-7 to Zverev, he took the next two 6-4 6-3.

Why does it matter? First of all, for the points. In Shanghai the title is worth 1,000 points, the final 650 and the semi-final 400. In the live ranking Jodar is No. 11 with 3,309 points, 16 behind Arthur Fils at No. 10 and 204 ahead of Novak Djokovic at No. 12. Davidovich Fokina is No. 17 with 2,530 points, which is also his career-high ranking, reached on 17 October 2026.

Let's start with Jodar, who is twenty (born on 17 September 2006) and has climbed 14 places in the live ranking since 25 July. His road in Shanghai was anything but comfortable: he dropped the first set in each of his first four matches, and the semi-final against Medvedev was the first in which he did not have to chase.

The comebacks came one after another: Thiago Agustin Tirante beaten 4-6 6-2 6-3, Jiri Lehecka 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4, Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 and Casper Ruud 4-6 6-4 6-3 in the quarter-finals. Four matches, four first sets lost, four wins. Then, against Medvedev, the pace changed: 6-3 6-4 and a place in the final.

Medvedev had reached the semi-finals with a solid run: Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 6-4 6-3, Dalibor Svrcina 6-2 6-3, Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 7-5 and Tommy Paul 6-3 1-6 6-3 in the quarter-finals. For him the semi-final was worth 400 points, the same he had already earned in Shanghai in 2025.

On the other side of the draw, Davidovich Fokina had his battle with Zverev. The German had got past Yibing Wu 6-4 7-6(4), Quentin Halys 6-4 6-7(8) 6-3, Alexander Bublik 7-6(6) 4-6 7-6(1) and Alex De Minaur 6-4 6-4. In the six meetings recorded on the site's player page, the head-to-head shows 2 wins for Davidovich Fokina and 4 for Zverev.

Davidovich Fokina's tournament has been an exercise in steady nerves. He beat Jenson Brooksby 6-1 6-3, then won two matches in a deciding set with the same final score, 7-6(6): against Frances Tiafoe (7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(6)) and against Hubert Hurkacz (1-6 6-3 7-6(6)). In the quarter-finals he benefited from Arthur Gea's retirement at 4-1, before stopping Zverev.

His season explains why Shanghai is not a complete surprise. In 2026 he has won the titles in Mallorca and Chengdu, beating Hurkacz 6-4 7-6(7) in the Chengdu final. He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the quarter-finals in Umag. In his last ten matches he has 9 wins and a single defeat; over the last 30 the record is 24 wins and 6 losses.

For Jodar the rise has been faster. In 2026 he has reached the final in Washington and the semi-finals in Montreal, then the fourth round in Cincinnati, where he beat Alejandro Tabilo 6-2 6-1. He has won eight of his last ten matches and holds a record of 23 wins and 7 losses over the last 30. It is the output of a player who has found consistency, not one who lives on flashes.

The tournament has already produced marathon numbers: 96 players in the draw, 172 matches played, 90 tie-breaks, 68 matches decided in a final set, four retirements and two walkovers. The longest match was Yannick Hanfmann against Kamil Majchrzak, 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 7-6(7), a total of 39 games.

The roll of honour shows that recent champions are all top names: in 2025 Valentin Vacherot won, beating Arthur Rinderknech 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the final; in 2024 Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic 7-6(4) 6-3; in 2023 Hubert Hurkacz beat Andrey Rublev 6-3 3-6 7-6(8). This year the defending champion went out in the fourth round: Vacherot lost 6-4 6-2 to Paul.

Carlos Alcaraz also exited in the fourth round, beaten by Zizou Bergs 7-5 7-6(4). The draw opened up, and Spain was the one to benefit: seven Spanish players in the field, two of them reaching the end. The nation's best result in this edition is, quite simply, the final.

What is at stake in the rankings? In the live ranking, Jodar's maximum is 3,659 points, which would put him ahead of both Tiafoe (3,405) and Fils (3,325). Davidovich Fokina can reach 2,880 points. Over the next six weeks he has 430 points to defend: 330 from the 2025 Basel final and 100 from the round of 16 at the Paris Masters 1000.

After Shanghai the calendar leads precisely to Basel and Paris. For Davidovich Fokina a title today would be a precious cushion ahead of the expiring points; for Jodar, at twenty, it would be the leap from rising player to a regular contender in the upper reaches of the ranking.

Two different roads, then, to the same goal: the twenty-year-old who has come back in four of his five matches, and the more experienced player who lives on tie-breaks and cool nerves. The final is scheduled for today, Sunday 18 October, and the site's live ranking will update as soon as the last point is played.