Alejandro Davidovich Fokina came from a set and a break down to beat fellow Spaniard Rafael Jodar 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday 18 October, in just under two and a half hours at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. It is his first Masters 1000 title and his third title of the season, after Mallorca and Chengdu, according to the ATP.

Jodar, 20, had been a win from becoming the youngest champion in the tournament's history. He will rise two places to No. 11 in the rankings on Monday, short of the first top-10 place that the title would have brought.

Jodar controls the first set, and then the match turns

Jodar broke in the second game, broke again for 5-1 and took the opening set 6-1 without facing a break point, according to the ATP. He also won all seven points longer than nine shots in that set. When he broke for 3-2 in the second set, he led by a set and a break.

Davidovich Fokina broke straight back, sprinting to the net and ending up sprawled on the court, then saved five break points across his next three service games to stay level. Jodar led the tie-break 4-3, but Davidovich Fokina won the last two points from 5-5 to take it 7-5.

The decider began with a break each. Davidovich Fokina broke again in the fifth game for 3-2, did not face another break point and served out the match on his second match point. He converted three of his seven break points, and Jodar still won more points over the match, 108 to 105, according to Tennis TourTalk's match statistics.

The champion looked fresher by the end. Jodar had come from a set down in four of his five matches to reach the final, according to the scores listed by Tennis Majors, and Davidovich Fokina said he felt he had a bit more fitness in the third set.

I had to keep trying, keep pushing, like every match in the tournament.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, on court after the final, as quoted by the ATP

Highlights of the final, from Tennis TV's official channel.

Five lost finals, then three wins in a row

Davidovich Fokina saved a match point against Frances Tiafoe in the third round, then came from a set down to beat Hubert Hurkacz and top seed Alexander Zverev on the way to the final. The comeback against Jodar was his third of the week. We covered the semi-finals in our Shanghai semi-finals recap.

He had lost his first five tour-level finals, including his only previous Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo in 2022, and has now won his last three. He has also won 10 straight matches in China. He missed two months with a back injury before Chengdu, according to the ATP, and said his friend Arthur Fils' return from a spell out this year had shown him it could be done.

What the result changes

Davidovich Fokina is the 16th different Spaniard to win a Masters 1000 title and the first to win in Shanghai, according to Tennis Majors and Tennis TourTalk. On Monday he rises 13 places to a career-high No. 13. The result also confirmed Ben Shelton's place at the Nitto ATP Finals for a second straight season, both outlets reported.

Jodar remains ninth in the Live Race to Turin, just inside the qualifying cut, according to the ATP. Speaking in the mixed zone, he said "I gave everything, but it wasn't meant to be today," as quoted by Tennis TourTalk. Davidovich Fokina said after the final that he would play at the Swiss Indoors in Basel next, according to Tennis TourTalk. The tournament runs from 24 October to 1 November, with first-round matches in the main draw on Tuesday 27 October, according to its website.

Read the preview: Jodar can break into the top 10 by beating Davidovich Fokina. More on tennis.