Rafael Jodar reaches Shanghai final after stunning Medvedev win
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- Rafael Jodar beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters semifinal on Saturday.
- The 20-year-old from Spain reached his first Masters 1000 final.
- He faces fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final on Sunday.
Rafael Jodar is one win from a huge title. The 20-year-old from Spain beat Daniil Medvedev in Shanghai on Saturday. He won 6-3, 6-4.
Now he plays for the Shanghai Masters title on Sunday.
Jodar is the new name in world tennis. He started this season ranked number 168 in the world. That rank shows how far down the list he was.
Few fans knew his name back then. Now the whole sport is talking about him.
His opponent in the final is Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He is also from Spain. He beat top seed Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal.
He won 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. The final is an all-Spanish match.
What happened
Jodar faced Medvedev in the semifinal on Saturday. Medvedev is a former world number one. He won the US Open in 2021.
He also won the Shanghai title in 2019. He was the clear favorite on paper.
The match started with a very long first game. It lasted more than 10 minutes. Jodar held his serve in that game.
That early hold set the tone. He looked calm from the start.
Jodar broke Medvedev's serve and took control. Medvedev broke back and made it level. But Jodar broke again and held on.
He won the first set 6-3. He saved four set points along the way.
Jodar then took a medical timeout before the second set. A medical timeout is a short break for treatment. He came back and raced to a 2-0 lead.
Medvedev fought back and led 3-2 at one point.
Jodar stayed strong and broke again. He went up 4-3 after Medvedev hit a double fault. A double fault is when a player misses two serves in a row.
Jodar then held his nerve and closed out the match. He won the second set 6-4.
Medvedev praised Jodar after the match. He said Jodar was better on the return. He called Jodar a great player.
He said Jodar plays like a top-10 player.
This win was different from Jodar's earlier wins in Shanghai. He had won all his prior matches there from a set down. That means he lost the first set each time.
Then he fought back to win. This time he led from the front.
The other semifinal
Davidovich Fokina played Zverev in the first semifinal. Zverev was the top seed in Shanghai. A top seed is the highest-ranked player in the draw.
He won the first set 7-5.
Davidovich Fokina did not give up. He broke Zverev late in the second set. He won it 6-4.
Then he took control of the third set. He won it 6-3.
The win sent him to his second Masters 1000 final. His first came in Monte Carlo in 2022. He is now 27 years old.
He is ranked number 26 in the world.
Davidovich Fokina has been on a hot run in China. He won a smaller title in Chengdu before Shanghai. His win over Zverev stretched his winning streak in China to nine matches.
A winning streak is a run of wins without a loss.
Zverev said fatigue caught up with him. Fatigue means deep tiredness. He also said he had ankle pain in Shanghai.
He plans to rest before a tournament in Vienna. That event starts on October 24.
Why it matters
A Masters 1000 event is one of the biggest events in men's tennis. Only the four Grand Slams rank above it. The Grand Slams are the four most famous tennis events.
Reaching a Masters 1000 final is a big step for any player.
Jodar is the first player born in 2006 or later to reach such a final. That fact comes from Opta Ace, a sports data firm. It shows how young he is.
He is doing this at just 20 years old.
One more win would break a record held by Boris Becker. Becker is a former world number one. The record is about speed of rise.
It tracks the fastest jump from the top 100 into the top 10. The top 100 means the best 100 players in the world rankings.
Jodar has also been fast at this level. He needed only 26 main-draw matches to reach 20 wins at Masters 1000 events. Only three players did it in fewer matches.
They were Boris Becker, Thomas Muster, and Stefan Edberg. That list shows the scale of his start.
His rise has been quick all season. He lost in the first round at Indian Wells. He lost in the third round at Miami.
Then he reached the quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome. A quarterfinal is the round of the last eight players.
He then reached his first Masters semifinal in Canada. He lost there to Brandon Nakashima. He left Cincinnati in the fourth round.
He left the US Open in the second round. Each step taught him more.
The Shanghai run also helps his push for the year-end finals in Turin. That event brings together the top eight men of the season. Jodar sits eighth in the race with 3,159 live points.
Live points are points counted during the current event.
Alex de Minaur is ninth in the race with 2,880 points. Novak Djokovic is close behind with 2,840 points. Jannik Sinner is out for the rest of the season.
He has a knee injury. That opened up one more spot.
Jodar sounded calm after the win. He said he is happy with how his season is going. He said he has the right mindset.
He said his past matches helped him find his form. He plans to keep the same mindset for the final.
What happens next
The final takes place on Sunday. Jodar faces Davidovich Fokina for the title. The two men have never played each other at tour level.
Tour level means the main men's circuit. They have practiced together in the past.
Jodar knows the final will be tough. He said Davidovich Fokina has been playing great tennis. He said he must give his best to have a chance.
He also said practice is different from a real match.
The final is the first all-Spanish Masters 1000 final since 2017. Back then, Rafael Nadal beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Monte Carlo. That was nine years ago.
Spanish fans will enjoy this one.
Both men want their biggest title yet. For Jodar, a win would lift him into the top 10. It would also firm up his place at the year-end finals.
For Davidovich Fokina, a win would be his biggest title too.
The winner will also gain ranking points. Ranking points decide a player's place on the world list. A Masters 1000 title brings a big jump in points.
Fans can expect a fast match with long rallies. A rally is a run of shots between two players. Jodar returns serve well.
Davidovich Fokina uses drop shots with skill. A drop shot is a soft shot that lands just past the net.
Jodar's story is about belief and steady growth. He started the year far down the rankings. He learned from each loss.
He kept improving at each big event. Now he stands one win from a Masters 1000 title.
More Shanghai tennis on Rive News
Shanghai has given fans many shocks this week. Zizou Bergs stunned Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai. That upset shook the whole draw.
Alex de Minaur has been working on his fitness at the Shanghai Masters. His run ended in the quarterfinals. Alexander Zverev beat Alexander Bublik in Shanghai.
That win came before his semifinal loss.
Jodar will hope Sunday brings one more win. He has already made this week his own. A title would make it a season to recall.
Even a loss leaves him as a rising star. The tennis world will watch his next steps with care.
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