Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won his first Masters 1000 title by beating Rafael Jodar 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in Shanghai on October 18.
VnExpress reported that the all-Spanish final lasted two hours and 27 minutes at Qizhong.
Survival in the second set
Jodar dominated the opening set, breaking serve twice to win it 6-1.
He continued to pressure Davidovich Fokina in the second, but the older player saved two break points at 4-4.
That hold prevented Jodar from moving into a position to serve for the title. Davidovich Fokina then won the tie-break 7-5 to level the match.
He later described continuing to fight and concentrating on each point as central to the recovery.
Deciding-set endurance
Jodar had spent 11 hours and 18 minutes on court before the final, nearly three hours more than his opponent, according to the source.
He required physical assistance during breaks in the third set, while Davidovich Fokina increasingly controlled the important moments and completed it 6-4.
The title was his third ATP trophy of the season after Mallorca and Chengdu, extending his winning run in China to ten matches.
The report projected a 13-place rise to world No.13 when rankings were updated on October 19. That was an expected ranking consequence, not confirmation of an already published new list.
Jodar missed the projected opportunity to enter the top ten, but added a significant runner-up result to his first full professional season.