Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Saturday, after a tense three-set contest.
Davidovich Fokina, ranked 26th, will play either Daniil Medvedev or fellow Spaniard Rafael Jodar in the final on Sunday. The 27-year-old combined grit, fast returns and graceful drop shots to stun the German, who is set to end the year as world number one.
How Zverev’s first-set lead slipped away
The opening set featured long rallies and a series of misjudged shots. Zverev avoided facing any break points in the set, converting a crucial break point to go up 6-5 before closing it out with an ace. He appeared to be heading back to the final he last reached in 2019.
Trouble arrived in the second set, when Zverev seemed to be moving with difficulty. Davidovich Fokina earned his first break point in the fourth game, but Zverev held after the Spaniard returned into the net. Davidovich Fokina’s growing pressure then paid off with a backhand run that took the match into a deciding set.
Davidovich Fokina’s winning run in China
In the decider, the emboldened Spaniard raced into a 3-0 lead. Zverev saved two match points, but the reprieve was only brief.
Davidovich Fokina admitted to the crowd that he had been nervous. “I was a little bit nervous,” he said of his shaky start. “But I keep going, I keep fighting, every ball,” he added. The semi-final win extended his winning streak in China to nine matches, following an ATP 250 title in Chengdu.
