Rafael Jodar and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina meet in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday 18 October, the first time the two Spaniards have played each other. The match is scheduled for not before 16:30 local time in Shanghai, which is 10:30 CEST, at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center. Neither has won a Masters 1000 title, and the ATP calls it only the ninth all-Spanish final in the history of the Masters 1000 series.

Jodar can move into the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time with a win. Davidovich Fokina can pass his career-high ranking. Both semi-finals are in our recap of Davidovich Fokina's win over Zverev and Jodar's win over Medvedev.

Jodar has gone from No. 283 to a Masters final in a year

Jodar, 20, is ranked 13th. A year ago he was No. 283 and playing college tennis at the University of Virginia, according to the ATP. This season he won his first tour-level title in Marrakech, reached the ATP 500 final in Washington in August, and made the quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome and the semi-finals in Montreal.

He lost in the first round at the US Open and in Tokyo before arriving in Shanghai. In Shanghai he won his first three matches in three sets, beat Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals and then beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4. That made him the youngest finalist in the history of the Shanghai Masters, according to the ATP and Reuters, and the first man born in 2006 or later to reach a Masters 1000 final. The semi-final was also his 20th Masters 1000 win of the season, and the ATP says he is the youngest player to reach that mark since Rafael Nadal in 2005.

I think I'm having the right mentality, and I am playing well here in Shanghai.

Rafael Jodar, after the semi-final, as quoted by the ATP

Davidovich Fokina is back in a Masters final for the first time since 2022

Davidovich Fokina, 27, lost his only previous Masters 1000 final, on clay in Monte Carlo in 2022. He has won two titles this year, in Mallorca and Chengdu, according to the ATP.

In Shanghai he saved a match point to beat seventh seed Frances Tiafoe in the third round, then beat former champion Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth. His semi-final win was 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 over top seed Alexander Zverev.

It doesn't matter the result, I am just thinking about every ball.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, after the semi-final, as quoted by the ATP

The top 10 and the race to Turin are also on the line

A win would take Jodar into the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time and up to sixth in the Live Race to Turin. He is ninth in that race, 279 points ahead of 10th-placed Alex de Minaur, which the ATP describes as effectively the last qualifying place for the Nitto ATP Finals with Jannik Sinner out for the rest of 2026 with a knee injury. Jodar is trying to qualify for the Finals for the first time.

Davidovich Fokina has climbed 11 places to No. 15 in the Live Rankings this fortnight and is assured of a return to the top 20 on Monday. A title could lift him past his career-high ranking of No. 14.