Alejandro Davidovich Fokina earned his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, rebounding from an early deficit to defeat fellow Spaniard Rafael Jodar 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Sunday.
It was a fitting way for Davidovich Fokina, seeded 25th, to end his stay in China. To reach the finals, he had to come from a set down in three of his five matches, including a win over top seed Alexander Zverev.
And the 12-seeded Jodar, an up-and-coming 20-year-old, did not make it easy for Davidovich Fokina.
The 27-year-old was steamrolled by Jodar in the first set, which lasted less than a half hour. In the second set, Jodar broke Davidovich Fokina to take a 3-2 lead, only to give it right back in the next game.
The match stayed on serve until the tie-breaker, but Jodar lost serve at 5-5 to give Davidovich Fokina an easy path to the win.
In the third set, Jodar fought off a match point with Davidovich Fokina serving at 5-4, but lost on the subsequent point.
Davidovich Fokina managed to pull out the win despite Jodar’s 12 aces and his 38 winners — more than double Davidovich Fokina’s 17.
“I don’t have any words right now,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I have a blank mind. I don’t know what to say and I don’t know how I feel. Just a huge relief. After the first set I had to keep trying, keep pushing, like every match in the tournament. In the tie-break, I believed in myself again and tried to play the ball. He was playing huge tennis.
“In the third set, maybe I had a bit more fitness physically. He’s an amazing player and it was very tough to play against him today.”
Davidovich Fokina captured his third career title on Sunday in two hours, 28 minutes. All of them have come this year, following his victories at a pair of 250-level tournaments in Mallorca and Chengdu. Between those two titles, Davidovich Fokina missed two months with a back injury.
–Field Level Media
