Alejandro Davidovich Fokina pulled off an upset on Saturday by defeating top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Shanghai Masters final.
The 25th seed from Spain struck 36 winners during the two-hour, two-minute encounter. This is only his second victory over Zverev in eight career meetings, following a win in the round of 32 at the Canadian Open in 2023.
Davidovich Fokina claimed his first break of the match in the second set to level the score. A backhand passing shot on the run during a baseline exchange capped the set and forced a decider.
Carrying that momentum forward, Davidovich Fokina broke Zverev immediately for a 2-0 lead in the final set. He maintained control from that point to secure a place in the second ATP Masters 1000 final of his career, having finished as runner-up in Monte Carlo in 2022.
The winner landed 82 percent of his first serves and targeted Zverev on the forehand side. “I knew that if I stayed there all match, I could get at least one chance and I took it there in the second set,” Davidovich Fokina told reporters.
“Then in the third set, I think I was better physically. 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 missed the North American hard-court swing in August due to injury. He has now won nine consecutive matches in China, having captured his second tour-level title at the ATP 250 event in Chengdu last month.
For Zverev, the defeat ends a strong week in Shanghai. The seven-time ATP Masters 1000 champion has seen his best result in the tournament remain his runner-up finish to Daniil Medvedev in 2019.
The 29-year-old German has enjoyed a strong season. He ended his Grand Slam drought at the French Open, claimed a second major title at the US Open, and secured the ATP year-end world number one ranking after Jannik Sinner was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
In the tournament’s other semifinal, fifth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev faced 12th-seeded Spanish player Rafael Jodar, 20. Davidovich Fokina will face the winner of that match in Sunday’s final.
