Rafael Jodar beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Saturday, reaching his first Masters 1000 final without dropping a set. At 20, he became the youngest finalist in tournament history and will face fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Shanghai, China: Rafael Jodar began the year ranked 168th in the world and spent the week of his life climbing out of holes. He lost the first set in each of his previous four matches in Shanghai and won all four. On Saturday against a former world No. 1, he did not need a comeback at all.
Five set points to settle the opener
Medvedev, the 2019 Shanghai champion, was the more experienced player and made the first set as awkward as he could. Jodar needed five set points to close it, and Medvedev saved four of them before sending a return long to hand the Spaniard the lead. Jodar had broken twice in the set, but the closing game was a test of nerve, and he passed it. Medvedev had spent the week making hard matches look controlled; here the control belonged to the younger man.
The break that decided the second
The second set stayed level until Jodar broke for 4-3 after a Medvedev double fault. It was the key moment of the afternoon. Medvedev, 30 and a former US Open champion, kept fighting and had match points to save late in the set, but Jodar held his composure and finished the job.
The numbers explain why. Jodar hit six aces to Medvedev’s three, served two double faults to his opponent’s four, and converted four of his seven break points while Medvedev took two of six. Jodar won 73 points in total to 61.
Youngest Shanghai finalist
The result completed a rise that few saw coming in January. Jodar is now ranked 13th, and this is his first final at Masters 1000 level. At 20, he is the youngest finalist in the history of the Shanghai tournament, having already become its youngest semi-finalist with a three-set win over Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals that lasted two hours and 20 minutes.
For Medvedev, the defeat ended a week in which he had outlasted Tommy Paul in three sets to reach the last four and had a chance to return to the final he won seven years ago.
An all-Spanish final
Jodar now meets Davidovich Fokina, the 26th-ranked Spaniard who beat top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the other semi-final. The two have never played each other on the ATP Tour, and both are chasing a first Masters 1000 title. The final is on Sunday, and one of them will lift the trophy.
Result: Rafael Jodar (ESP) bt Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4
Event: Rolex Shanghai Masters (ATP Masters 1000), semi-final, Saturday 17 October 2026
Next: Final on Sunday 18 October against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)
