SHANGHAI — Alejandro Davidovich Fokina finally has the Masters 1000 title that eluded him for years — and he had to survive an all-Spanish classic to get it. The 27-year-old came back from a set and a break down to beat 20-year-old countryman Rafael Jódar 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 on Sunday, winning the Rolex Shanghai Masters final in two hours and 28 minutes.

It is the biggest title of Davidovich Fokina's career and his first at the Masters 1000 level after five previous tour-level final defeats, including a heartbreaking loss in Monte-Carlo back in 2022. He has now won three straight finals to close out an up-and-down season, and becomes the first Spanish champion in Shanghai's history.

A set, then a scare, then a steadying

Jódar came out of the blocks like the player who had already dismantled Casper Ruud and stunned Daniil Medvedev to reach his first Masters 1000 final. He broke twice in a dominant opening set, winning it 6-1 without facing a single break point of his own. But Davidovich Fokina, who himself had to come through a tough semifinal against top seed Alexander Zverev, settled in during the second set, trading breaks before closing it out in a tiebreak, 7-6(5). From there, the most experienced man in the match took over, breaking in the fifth game of the decider and holding firm to seal the title.

"I have a blank mind right now — just a huge relief," Davidovich Fokina said afterward. "He's an amazing player and it was very tough to play against him today."

The win lifts Davidovich Fokina 13 spots to a career-high No. 13 in the ATP rankings and extends his winning streak on Chinese soil to 10 matches. For Jódar, the week was still a watershed: he arrives at a joint career-high No. 11 after becoming the youngest finalist in Shanghai Masters history, and he remains firmly in the hunt for a debut qualification to the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

The all-Spanish final — a first in Shanghai — doubled as a passing-of-sorts moment for Spanish tennis. Jódar, who has cited Rafael Nadal as his idol, spent the tournament drawing comparisons to his countryman for his relentless baseline game and comeback instincts; Sunday's runner-up finish, after also toppling a former Grand Slam champion in Medvedev along the way, only adds to a breakout debut season that outlets like the Washington Post's tennis coverage has tracked closely all autumn.

Both players now turn toward the final stretch of the ATP season, with the Paris Masters and Turin finals qualification race looming. For Davidovich Fokina, though, Sunday was simply about finally breaking through at the sport's second tier of prestige. For Jódar, it's a measuring stick for just how far — and how fast — his first full tour season has taken him.