Rafael Jódar beat Casper Ruud 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinal. The 20-year-old Spaniard dropped the first set but turned the match around with growing pressure on return and a powerful forehand, booking his first semifinal appearance at this venue and one of the biggest wins of his career so far.
Ruud made the stronger start
Casper Ruud controlled the early exchanges, waiting patiently for his opportunities. Rafael Jódar initially held his own but could not push the Norwegian back behind the baseline for any sustained period in the first set. In the tenth game Ruud earned the break and served out the set 6-4.
The set win gave Ruud an early foothold. Jódar, meanwhile, needed to sharpen his game as Ruud repeatedly set up free points with his first serve. At the same time, unforced errors began to mount for the Spaniard, and Ruud made him pay for each one.
Jódar rediscovered his level through the return
The second set told a different story. Rafael Jódar lifted the pace with his forehand and began pressing Casper Ruud earlier in his service games. Ruud hit back with a re-break to level at 2-2, keeping the set in the balance, but Jódar was steadily gaining the upper hand in the longer rallies.
The decisive moment came at 4-4. Jódar earned the break for 5-4 and gave Ruud no route back into the set, serving it out to love to level the match at one set apiece, 6-4.
Forehand dominance settles the deciding set
In the deciding set Rafael Jódar took full control. His forehand repeatedly pinned Casper Ruud deep behind the baseline while the Spaniard pounced on any short ball. Jódar broke Ruud's serve three times, ruthlessly exploiting the weaknesses in his opponent's service games.
Ruud had no answer to the shifted pace. Jódar played with greater boldness, moved well into the open court and maintained the pressure through the critical games. After the final break he closed out the set 6-3.
A semifinal of real significance
The match statistics underlined Jódar's improvement as the match progressed. He won 76 percent of points on first serve and 44 percent of return points. Ruud, by contrast, finished with 41 unforced errors and far less consistency throughout. Jódar struck 28 winners and did not land a single double fault.
For Rafael Jódar it was his fourth consecutive win in this tournament after losing the opening set. It also extended Casper Ruud's difficult record against players under 21: this season he has lost six of his last seven matches against that age group.
Jódar arrived in Shanghai seeded 12th and was on course for qualification to the Nitto ATP Finals before this match. The victory made him the youngest semifinalist in the history of the Shanghai Masters. He was joined in the last four by fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The result marked another milestone in a breakthrough season that had already featured Jódar's first ATP title in Marrakech and a quarterfinal run at Roland Garros.
