Davidovich Fokina Wins All-Spanish Battle To Capture Shanghai Masters Crown

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Rolex Shanghai Masters
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (photo: Rolex Shanghai Masters)

SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON, October 18, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

When Spanish No. 2 Rafael Jodar took on Spanish No. 3 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Rolex Shanghai Masters championship match Sunday evening at Qi Zhong Tennis Center, it marked the first all-Spanish ATP Masters 1000 final since 2017 at Monte-Carlo, and the first all-Spanish hard-court final in the 36-year history of the ATP Masters 1000 series.

Meeting for the first time, more than 10,200 kilometers from Madrid in China’s most-populous city, the 27-year-old Davidovich Fokina became the 16th different Spanish ATP Masters 1000 champion – and first one in Shanghai. He came back from a set and a break down to defeat Jodar, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in two hours and 27 minutes to claim his third ATP Tour title of the season – and first one at ATP Masters 1000 level.

By coming from behind to win, the World No. 26 Davidovich Fokina denied the 20-year-old Jodar from becoming the youngest Shanghai champion in tournament history after being the first man born in 2006 or later to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final. Had he won, Jodar would have been the third-youngest Spaniard to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title after Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, who were both 18 when they won Monte-Carlo in 2005 and Miami in 2022, respectively.

Instead, en route to the Shanghai title, the 25th-seeded Davidovich Fokina defeated Jenson Brooksby of the United States, World No. 10 and seventh seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States, Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, Arthur Gea of France, World No. 2 and top seed Alexander Zverev, and Jodar. He has now won each of the last three ATP Tour finals he has competed in.

“I don’t have any words right now,” Davidovich Fokina said during an on-court interview with ATP Media before the trophy ceremony. “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 has now won 10-straight matches on Chinese soil and the Shanghai crown is his third ATP Tour title of the year – and biggest of his career – following successful runs to titles in Mallorca and three weeks ago in Chengdu. After a 0-5 start in finals, including losing his first ATP Masters 1000 final at Monte-Carlo in 2022, Davidovich Fokina has shown he can compete on the highest level and succeed. He’s the fifth man to win three-plus tour-level titles this season and Sunday’s victory improved his 2026 win-loss record to 33-16. On Monday, he will move up 13 spots in the PIF ATP Rankings, from No. 26 to World No. 13.

 

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Meanwhile, the loss ended an 11-2 run by Jodar versus Top 30 players, including three wins in Shanghai, against No. 22 seed Jiri Lehecka, No. 20 seed Casper Ruud and No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev. His win-loss record this season is now 43-17. 

“It was a great week. I played a lot of matches. A lot of things to improve for the next tournament. And, yes, I didn’t get the win today, but still happy about how things are going for me,” Jodar said during a post-match mixed zone interview. He will move up to World No. 11 in the PIF ATP Rankings from No. 13 on Monday.

“Yeah, I gave everything, but it wasn’t meant to be today.”

Davidovich Fokina overcame 40 unforced errors to hit 17 winners, including six aces. He won 64 percent (53 of 83) of his first-serve points, saved eight of 12 break points, and converted three of seven break-point opportunities. Jodar, who outpointed Davidovich Fokina 108-105, countered with 38 winners but made 45 unforced errors. He finished with 12 aces and won 70 percent (52 of 74) of his first-serve points.

Down a set and a break after Jodar dominated play for the first set and a half, Davidovich Fokina rallied and remained tough as nails. He held his nerve during many of the biggest points of the second set. Later, Davidovich Fokina pulled through a tense tiebreaker and prevailed 7-5, winning four of the last five points – including the final two – to send the championship final to a decider for the title.

Next, Davidovich Fokina remained vigilant. He turned defense into attack and broke Jodar’s serve right away to begin the deciding set. Although he was broken back in the ensuing game, after Jodar converted his fourth break-point chance of the game, Davidovich Fokina broke Jodar for a second time in the set. It was the third time overall and it put Davidovich Fokina ahead 3-2, after the younger Spaniard committed his 35th unforced error. He consolidated the break to lead 4-2, but Jodar did his part to keep matters close at hand and held to trail 4-3.

Soon, Davidovich Fokina won a long rally to hold for 5-3, needing to hold serve just one more time to win the biggest title of his career. After Jodar held serve while gingerly trying to play through muscle pain in both of his thighs, it was Davidovich Fokina’s turn to go for glory as the final reached the two-hour, 22-minute mark. It was within his grasp.

Davidovich Fokina won the first three points on his serve to set up championship point, after winning a grueling 14-point tussle. Then, after Jodar saved one championship point, Davidovich Fokina won it on his second opportunity. He looked toward his box and raised his arms and smiled in celebration. After missing the entire North American hard-court swing to nurse a back injury, the Spaniard could finally celebrate.

“Of course I am very grateful for the team I have,” Davidovich Fokina said. “They’ve supported me every day for many years and of course this year was a tough one. Not only two months out, I also skipped a couple more tournaments this year with [other] injuries. So, it was not an easy on. … I cannot describe with words how thankful I am [for my team]. 

“I remember now Arthur Fils, who is a very good friend of mine and skipped a lot of tournaments this year. He came back stronger, winning matches. So that gave me a lot of power, that if he could do it, I could do it too.”

In a week in which he proved his resilience time and again – saving a match point against Tiafoe in the third round, then coming from behind to beat Hurkacz and Zverev – it was Davidovich Fokina who continued to fight from first ball to last and found a path to garner the most important title of his career.

As Davidovich Fokina smiled with his trophy and posed for photographs with his coach, José Manuel Clavet, and his team, he knew deep inside he would always have Shanghai to treasure.

Miedler and Oberleitner first Austrian pair to win an ATP Masters 1000 title 

Austrians Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner won their first ATP Masters 1000 doubles title as a team, wrapping up a dominating fortnight in which they did not drop any sets across their five matches.

On Sunday afternoon, Miedler and Oberleitner defeated Francisco Cabral of Portugal and JJ Tracy of the United States 6-3, 6-4 in 65 minutes on Stadium Court. They took advantage of a break in each set against the Portuguese/American pair and outpointed them 55-39.

Miedler and Oberleitner were particularly effective on their serve. They won all but one of their first-serve points (24 of 25) for a 96-percent efficiency rate. They faced no break points.

Since forming their new partnership, which began during Austria’s recent Davis Cup Qualifiers tie against Belgium last month, Miedler and Oberleitner have been quarterfinalists in Tokyo and now have become the first all-Austrian team to win an ATP Masters 1000 title in series history dating back to 1990.

Shanghai represents the biggest of Miedler’s 14 ATP Tour doubles titles, won with a variety of partners, while it’s just the second tour-level crown for Oberleitner, after winning Winston-Salem in August, teamed with Petr Nouza of Czechia.

“I think if you never won a 1000 before, you cannot expect it to happen in the second week of our new partnership,” Miedler 30, said afterward, during a mixed zone interview. “The idea was to play well together. I mean, that it works after Tokyo and second tournament in Shanghai here is unbelievable. We knew that our game styles, they’re matching, that it can work. That it works like this is just simply unbelievable.”

Added Oberleitner, 27: “It’s surreal. The feeling is crazy. Like Lucas said, we knew we were going to play good together, and of course you never know, but you have a feeling. That it works in the second week obviously is great for us, and I’m excited what comes next. Obviously, we try to keep it going and work on our game, improve, improve. 

“It means a lot to me that I can show it on the big stage. I feel like I had it in me, but to show it and to have this title is unbelievable.”

By the numbers

• Sunday’s singles final between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Rafael Jodar marked the ninth all-Spanish final in ATP Masters 1000 series history (since 1990). By winning, Davidovich Fokina is the 16th Spanish different ATP Masters 1000 champion and the first in Shanghai.

• With Alejandro Davidovich Fokina‘s Shanghai triumph, it means World No. 4 Ben Shelton has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive season. He joins Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz in this year’s lineup so far.

“Quotable …”

“The season is not ended, but right now I don’t want to think about next week. I just want to celebrate with my team this victory; enjoy this moment.

“In two hours, we are taking the plane, so I’m arriving at home tomorrow, after one month here, not seeing my family, not seeing my wife. So, I don’t want to think about tennis for next two, three days, just to enjoy, no. And I will go to Basel and we will see what is happening there, but now I don’t want to think about it.”

– Rolex Shanghai Masters champion Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, during his champion’s news conference Sunday evening.

 

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