Alejandro Davidovich Fokina secured a significant upset on Saturday, defeating top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Shanghai Masters final. The 25th seed struck 36 winners across the two-hour, two-minute encounter, earning only his second victory against the German in eight career meetings. His previous win over Zverev occurred during the 2023 Canadian Open round of 32.
The match turned in the second set when Davidovich Fokina broke Zverev, punctuating a tense baseline rally with a backhand passing shot that energized the crowd.
Carrying that momentum into the decider, the 27-year-old broke early for a 2-0 lead and maintained control to reach his second career ATP Masters 1000 final, following his runner-up finish in Monte Carlo in 2022. A seven-time ATP Masters 1000 champion whose best result in Shanghai remains his runner-up finish to Medvedev in 2019, it was a disappointing end to the week for Zverev.
By landing 82% of his first serves and targeting Zverev’s forehand, he achieved one of the most notable wins of his career.
Reflecting on the victory, Davidovich Fokina noted that he knew staying in the rallies would provide an opportunity, which he capitalized on in the second set. He added that he felt superior physically in the third set and emphasized that his focus was simply on enjoying the match rather than obsessing over the outcome. The Spaniard is currently on a nine-match winning streak in China, having captured the ATP 250 title in Chengdu last month. The early break in the third set gave me a lot of power. “I focused on just playing, not mattering about the result but enjoying.”. Davidovich Fokina has now won nine consecutive matches in China after lifting his second tour-level title at the ATP 250 event in Chengdu last month.
For Zverev, the loss marks a disappointing conclusion to his Shanghai campaign. Despite this setback, the 29-year-old has had a standout season, securing his first French Open title, winning a second major at the US Open, and clinching the ATP year-end world number one ranking following Jannik Sinner’s knee injury.
The final will feature an all-Spanish matchup, as 12th seed Rafael Jodar defeated fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4. At 20 years old, Jodar has become the youngest finalist in the tournament’s history. The aggressive right-hander, who was ranked outside the top 900 just over a year ago, is seeking his second ATP title after his breakthrough in Morocco.
In women’s tennis, Iga Swiatek’s campaign at the Wuhan Open ended in the semi-finals after a 7-5, 6-1 loss to Maja Chwalinska, derailed by a left-leg injury. Despite leading 5-3 in the opening set, the six-time Grand Slam champion required a medical timeout and returned with a bandaged thigh, finding it difficult to push off her leg. The two players, childhood friends since age 10, shared a quiet post-match moment after their first competitive meeting in a decade. “It was a very tough match,” Jodar said. “In the first set all the games were very close, with breakpoints for him, breakpoints for me. “I’m super happy with how I handled the important moments in the first set, and also how I returned and served.”. Swiatek was 5-3 ahead in the first set but fellow 25-year-old Chwalinska saved two set points and took a 6-5 lead before the six-time Grand Slam winner had to take a medical timeout. Injured Swiatek goes down fighting in Wuhan semis: A left-leg injury derailed Iga Swiatek as she went down fighting to Polish compatriot and childhood friend Maja Chwalinska 7-5 6-1 in the Wuhan Open semi-finals on Satur.
Chwalinska, a French Open runner-up and Swiatek’s former junior doubles partner, will face Briton Sonay Kartal in the final. Kartal secured her spot by defeating Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(9), 7-6(5), overcoming a 4-1 deficit in both sets against the Latvian. Following Swiatek’s defeat, world number six Elina Svitolina officially qualified for the WTA Finals, leaving only one tournament spot remaining. Who is ranked 136 places below the Latvian, former French Open champion Ostapenko was left ruing her mistakes as she squandered 4-1 leads in both sets to lose to Kartal.
