Davidovich gives Jódar a survival lesson and lifts the most important title of his career in Shanghai

In the already extensive career of Alexander Davidovich this was missing. For years he was an unpredictable talent, with blows with his forehand, resourceful tennis and an indomitable character, but to storm the skies he lacked a major title. Well you already have it. In Shanghai, in the second Masters 1000 final of his life, he forgot a nightmare set against Rafa Jódar, survived on the brink of defeat on several occasions and came back to win 1-6, 7-6(5) and 6-4 in two hours and 27 minutes.

He did it with the maturity of recent months. He did so with the confidence of recent days, when he defeated Alenxader Zverev or Francis Tiafoe on his way to the final. Against Jódar, Davidovich lifted the most important title of his career and confirmed that he wants more. At an age when others begin to look back, he only looks up, to the peak of his tennis, to that Top 10 that remains an eternal ambition. This Monday he will wake up as number 13 in the world and next year whatever may come. As temperamental as he is, he celebrated very serenely, with a broad smile. It's your time.

A survival lesson

The Spanish final, the first in history away from clay, was a beautiful setting, and during one set it seemed written for the young Jódar. From the first point, which lasted 21 hits, the 20-year-old was superior: faster, more powerful, more precise. He closed the first set with just three unforced errors, in the midst of a succession of blows along the lines. Davidovich, against the ropes, could only resist. The final seemed decided in less than half an hour.

But this Davidovich is another Davidovich. As he had done throughout the Masters 1000, he refused to give up. In the second set, after giving up his serve, he seemed on the verge of letting go. However, he recovered the break, held on to the match with his serve and began to argue with his compatriot. They found themselves 4-3 down and with a break against them, and there the survivor appeared: it was not enough to hold on, you had to know how to suffer. He forced the tiebreaker and won it 7-5, with a coldness that changed the course of the final.

From then on, the game was his. With a cool head and a loose arm, he disconnected Jódar through heights, changes of pace and patience. The young man's explosive tennis lost depth as the match progressed, and fatigue ended up taking its toll on him in the third set. Davidovich knew how to see it and take advantage of it: smarter, more organized and more constant than ever. The final 6-4 was the seal of a comeback that is now part of its history.

A present without a roof

In a circuit shaken by the losses of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and with doubts about the imminent rise of Alexander Zverev to number one, Davidovich has taken advantage of his opportunity with an authority inappropriate for a last-minute guest. His title in Shanghai catapulted him up the ranking to thirteenth place and placed him among the great protagonists of the final stretch of the season.

Jódar, who arrived in Shanghai as one of the great promises of tennis and leaves with a lesson learned, has plenty of time to return to a final like this. Today, however, the day belonged to Davidovich, who at 27 years old demonstrated that maturity can also be a form of explosion. For him, this season can end in a big way. And from here, the sky is the limit.