Jodar, 20, Becomes Youngest Shanghai Semifinalist and Sets Up Medvedev Clash

Updated 14:34 UTC, Oct 17, 2026. Rafael Jodar beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 in the Shanghai semi-final on Saturday to reach his first Masters 1000 final. At 20, he is the youngest finalist in Shanghai Masters history. Medvedev saved three match points on his own serve at 5-3 down in the second set and held, but Jodar served out the match on his own serve, closing it with a forehand winner down the line. In the other semi-final, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, so Sunday's final is all Spanish: Jodar against Davidovich Fokina.

Jodar had needed three sets to win every match this week. Against Medvedev he did it in straight sets, and he did it the hard way inside the match too. The first game lasted 13 minutes. The two men traded breaks, Medvedev saved set points in the first set, and Jodar still took it 6-3. Jodar took a medical timeout before the second set, then broke early, broke again for 4-3 when Medvedev double-faulted, and held his nerve at the end. Medvedev fell to the ground trying to save a match point. During the second set Medvedev also threatened to retire in a row over a video review of a line call, before play continued and the replay showed the ball was in.

After the match Jodar said it was a very tough match, that the games were very close, and that he was super happy with how he handled the important moments. Davidovich Fokina fired 36 winners against Zverev in two hours and two minutes, took the second set with his first break of the match, and broke again for 2-0 in the third. It is his second Masters 1000 final, after Monte Carlo in 2022. Zverev, who has already clinched the year-end number one ranking, said he was flat, that fatigue had caught up with him, and that he needed a break.

Rafael Jodar became the youngest semifinalist in Shanghai Masters history on Friday, October 16. The 20-year-old Spaniard rallied past Casper Ruud 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. He will play Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final.

Medvedev, a former world number one, beat the American Tommy Paul 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the other quarterfinal played on Friday. The Russian fifth seed is the only former Shanghai champion left in the draw. He won the title in 2019.

Four comebacks in a row for Jodar

Jodar lost the first set for the fourth straight match at this tournament, and he won for the fourth straight time. It is his first run at the Shanghai Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event, and this is his first full year on the ATP Tour.

Ruud, a former world number two from Norway, held the early edge. He took the opener 6-4 and protected his serve well in the first set. Jodar said after the match that Ruud handled the key points better early on, and that the Norwegian's serve kept shutting down his break chances.

The match turned late in the second set. Jodar broke for 5-4 and then served the set out without dropping a point. In the third set he broke Ruud three more times and closed the win in two hours and 20 minutes. Across the last two sets he broke serve five times.

Medvedev steadies after a lost set

Medvedev started fast against Paul, the 15th seed. He took the first set 6-3, then lost his range in the second and dropped it 1-6. He reset in the third, served better and took the match in two hours and eight minutes. He hit 16 aces and 31 winners.

The win was the 70th tour-level semifinal of Medvedev's career. It also helps his push for a place at the ATP Finals in Turin. He won his third title of the season in Hangzhou last month.

Medvedev praised Jodar's power after the match and said the semifinal would be a first meeting between them. He said a player who hits that hard is hard to handle when he finds his rhythm, and that he would need his best level.

The other semifinal

Top seed Alexander Zverev, a two-time Grand Slam champion, plays the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the other semifinal. The winners of the two matches meet in the Shanghai final.

For Jodar, the week has already changed his season. A 20-year-old on his tournament debut has beaten a former world number two from a set down, set a record no younger player at this event has matched, and put himself one win from a Masters 1000 final in his first full year on tour. The semifinal against Medvedev is the hardest test he has faced. Medvedev has been in this round 69 times before.