SHANGHAI (AP) — Alejandro Davidovich Fokina upset future No. 1 Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Shanghai Masters final on Saturday.
The 25th-seeded Spaniard, who won the ATP 250 Chengdu Open in China last month, reached the second Masters final of his career after losing on clay at Monte Carlo in 2022.
He will try for his third title of the year — and of his career — against 20-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar, who also secured a big win by toppling 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first Masters final.
Medvedev saved three match points serving at 5-3 down and then held serve. But Jodar sealed the victory on his own serve, clipping a forehand winner down the line after Medvedev's tame smash at the net sat up nicely for him.
The No. 12-seeded Jodar is looking for his second career title after winning on clay at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, Morocco in April.
Zverev feels fatigued
Earlier Saturday, the top-seeded Zverev, who recently clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking, served out the first set with an ace.
But the imposing German soon found himself under pressure, saving two break points in the fourth game of the second set.
Davidovich Fokina broke Zverev with a brilliant two-handed backhand down the line to level the match, and an ace put him 4-1 up in the deciding set.
“Today I was flat. Even in the first set, even though I won the set,” Zverev said. "I was not reacting so well. I was returning quite badly.”
At 15-40 down on serve in the eighth game, Zverev saved two match points. But Davidovich Fokina held his nerve and clinched victory on his third match point when Zverev could not return his sliced serve on forehand.
“I feel like I've actually, in a way, maybe overachieved this week because of how much tennis I played," Zverev added. “I carried fatigue into the tournament, and I'm okay to lose to a player like this today.”
Zverev is scheduled to play the ATP 500 in Vienna, which begins Oct. 26 and could see him face seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.
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The Associated Press