Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina defeated American Frances Tiafoe 7:6, 4:6, 7:6 in the round of 32 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters to advance to the next round of the ATP 1000 event, played on hard courts in Shanghai. The tournament’s prize money, according to api.tennis, is $11.2 million.
Two tiebreaks and one set for Tiafoe
The first and third sets were decided by tiebreaks, and Davidovich Fokina won both. The second set in between was the only one the Spaniard lost: Tiafoe fought back to take the match into a deciding set. There, the players again could not be separated in regular play, and a tiebreak decided the outcome.
The match brought together players with very different rankings. Tiafoe was the No. 7 seed and ranked 8th with 3380 points, while Davidovich Fokina was 25th with 1980 points and the No. 25 seed (according to rank.tennis). In Shanghai, that did not stop the Spaniard from beating an opponent ranked considerably higher.
The players took different routes to this match. Davidovich Fokina began his tournament by beating Jenson Brooksby 6:1, 6:3, then played a three-set match against Tiafoe. The American opened his campaign with a 6:4, 6:4 win over Yannick Hanfmann.
Previous meetings, according to api.tennis, have more often gone the Spaniard’s way. In 2022 in Estoril, Davidovich Fokina won 7:6, 5:7, 7:5; in 2024 in Cincinnati, he prevailed 6:3, 7:6; and in 2025 in Miami, he won 7:5, 7:6. Tiafoe came out on top in Acapulco in 2025, winning 6:3, 6:7, 6:3. The Shanghai match added another meeting to the series, one that, like many previous encounters, went to a tiebreak.