Rafael Jodar beats Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to set up an all-Spanish Shanghai final

Rafael Jodar will play his first Masters 1000 final. The 20-year-old Spaniard beat fifth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-4 in 1 hour 44 minutes on Saturday to set up an all-Spanish final at the Shanghai Masters against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

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Rafael Jodar vs Daniil Medvedev Highlights | Shanghai 2026 Semi-Final — ATP Tour · YouTube, plays on click

In control from the start

After four comebacks from a set down earlier in the week, Jodar led from the first game this time. The opening game alone lasted more than ten minutes before he held. He broke for 3-1, was pegged back, broke again for 4-2 and, after saving a break point at 5-2, needed five set points to close out the first set 6-3, according to Perfect Tennis and Tennis Uptodate.

Medvedev, the 2019 champion, briefly levelled the second set after a break back, but Jodar broke again to move ahead, and although the Russian saved three match points in one game, the Spaniard served out the match to love. Jodar won 73 of the 134 points played and 22 of the 30 points the statistics classed as pressure points, Perfect Tennis reported.

The first set also featured a tense moment at 4-2: Medvedev disputed a Jodar forehand that the electronic line-calling system had called in, and asked to see the replay. When it was eventually shown, it confirmed the call. "It was a very tough match," Jodar said afterwards.

Records keep falling

Jodar, already the youngest semi-finalist in Shanghai history, is now the youngest finalist the event has had. He has 20 Masters 1000 match wins this season — only Rafael Nadal, in 2005, reached that number younger, Perfect Tennis noted. He started the year ranked No 168 and is set to rise to a career-high No 11 on Monday; the title would take him into the top 10, and would also break Boris Becker's 1985 record for the fastest rise from the top 100 to the top 10 that we described before this semi-final.

What it means for Turin

The result strengthens Jodar's hold on ninth place in the Race to Turin — the position that should be enough to qualify for the ATP Finals with Jannik Sinner out for the rest of the season. It is also a setback for the players chasing him, including Novak Djokovic, who has added Basel to his schedule. Our Race explainer has the full picture.

In Sunday's all-Spanish final, Davidovich Fokina arrives on a nine-match winning streak in China after beating Alexander Zverev. Follow it live on our tennis scores.