ATP Tour: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina produces finest hour against Rafael Jodar in Shanghai heat
The Shanghai Masters is the penultimate such event on the ATP calendar, played on relatively fast hard courts and often in extreme humidity.
It is a recent addition to the schedule, introduced in 2009, and was once dominated by the heavyweights – Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Roger Federer lifting the trophy in all editions from 2010 to 2017.
This year, Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina became its fifth new champion in a row, and the achievement is undoubtedly the high watermark of his career so far.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer and tennis fan AJ Becker takes a closer look at Fokina’s feat and the other high flyers at the Chinese tournament.
A painful past
To reach four ATP finals in a year is some accomplishment.
However, not only did Fokina end all his 2025 finals as runner-up – he squandered a total of five championship points in them.
Two came and went against Miomir Kecmanović at Delray Beach, then a further three were wasted versus Alex de Minaur at the Washington Open.
Those results left many wondering whether Fokina would finish his career without a trophy to reflect his immense talent as had players such as Julien Benneteau and Filip Krajinović in the recent past.
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Performing under pressure
Now, the mental fragility and brittleness that once defined him in pressure moments has been supplanted by mental toughness and composure.
Even in a year when considerable time has been lost to injury, the tour-level title box was finally ticked on the grass of Mallorca in June, with a second crown following at Chengdu last month.
Fokina’s newfound resilience was on display again in Shanghai as he prevailed in deciding tie-breaks against Frances Tiafoe and Hubert Hurkacz.
The 27-year-old then recovered from a set down to defeat top seed (and soon-to-be world number one) Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals before repeating the trick against the red-hot Rafael Jodar in Sunday’s final.
Fokina, who is of Russian descent on both sides, has always possessed real ability, with a command of the dropshot that remains unsurpassed.
Teaming up with renowned coach José Clavet at the start of the year seems to have invested his game with grit and clarity.
A new career-high ranking of 13 is a fitting reward for the player who becomes the 25th active ATP competitor to have won a Masters event.
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Jodar’s star rising
He may have been edged out in the final, but any tennis follower will know that Jodar’s debut Shanghai appearance – four consecutive recoveries from a set down plus a hugely impressive victory over seasoned Masters champion Daniil Medvedev – was in sync with his phenomenal debut season.
One of the brightest stars in the ATP firmament, Jodar has played more than 70 matches this year and pushed his body to the limit.
Yet, he continued to show remarkable resilience in those comeback affairs.
Indeed, it has taken the 20-year-old just 26 Masters matches to register 20 wins – it’s worth noting that both Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal needed more games (28 and 29) to reach that mark.
His potential seems infinitely vast as does his confidence to make good on that promise.
A rankings leap from number 283 a year ago to number 11 today is a jump of staggering proportions.
It will also offer hope to those languishing outside the top 200, for whom ATP players are simply a distant other, that they too may harbour a chance of making such a leap.
Hitting top Gea
Incidentally, Frenchman Arthur Gea is now placed at number 44 – almost 200 spots above his year-start position.
His series of milestones in 2026 included a maiden ATP title in Los Cabos, a last-16 berth at the US Open, and now a Shanghai quarter-final placing.
Gea, who excels at turning matches into physical battles and outlasting opponents, upset both Ben Shelton (top five) and Jakub Menšík (top 15) on his debut Masters participation.
To have won 30 of 35 matches on outdoor hard courts this year while holding a sensational 5-1 career record against top 30 players amounts to a demonstration of the 21-year-old’s blossoming ability, if not the total fulfilment of his potential.
Finally, Zizou Bergs’ stunning win over tournament favourite Alcaraz is worth a mention.
It constitutes a pivotal moment in the career of the Belgian for whom taking down elite opponents had often looked unattainable due to erratic fitness and an inability to sustain his highest level.
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