Tennis essentials, 17 October: an all-Spanish Shanghai final, Jodar sees off Medvedev, Swiatek falls in Wuhan

In Shanghai, Saturday’s semi-finals produced a two-Spanish final: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina came past Alexander Zverev, and Rafael Jodar saw off Daniil Medvedev. In Wuhan, Iga Swiatek lost to her compatriot Maja Chwalinska, and Sunday’s final is new ground on both sides.

Davidovich Fokina comes past a spent Zverev

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won in three sets and 2 h 04 (5-7, 6-4, 6-3) against Alexander Zverev, for the second Masters 1000 final of his career, after Monte-Carlo in 2022. Zverev, assured of becoming world number one before the season ends, has missed the 2 November date and will play the card again in Vienna next week. He put the defeat down to fatigue: since the US Open he has taken a single day of rest, and he is “not a robot”, he repeated. Our report carries his full statement, with the match odds.

Jodar, 20, takes Medvedev apart and plays his first final

In the other semi, Rafael Jodar, 20, gave Daniil Medvedev no opening: 6-3, 6-4 in 1 h 30, and the first Masters 1000 final of his career, on Sunday, against his compatriot Davidovich Fokina. Winner of the Marrakech ATP 250 and runner-up at the Washington ATP 500 this season, the Spaniard will be ranked at least 11th in the world. Medvedev praised the phenomenon without crowning him: “you never know whether a player will win one, two, six or 25 Grand Slam titles”, he said. The semi-final report.

In Wuhan, Swiatek falls, Chwalinska and Kartal step in

Iga Swiatek lost her WTA 1000 semi-final to her compatriot Maja Chwalinska, this year’s Roland Garros runner-up, and Sunday’s final will pit Chwalinska against Britain’s Sonay Kartal, ranked 170th, who has just seen off Jelena Ostapenko for the first WTA 1000 final of her career, in only her third tournament back after six months out. Swiatek, in tears after the defeat, watches the season-ending Finals move further away. The semi-final report, and our piece on Kartal’s run.

Fonseca and Auger-Aliassime shut their seasons

Two withdrawals weigh on the run-in: Joao Fonseca, 20 and ranked 29th, has called an end to his year, without the Basel ATP 500 or the Paris Masters. Félix Auger-Aliassime, ranked fifth and retired injured in the Shanghai last sixteen, withdraws from Brussels and Basel, and watches his last hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals fade. In Brussels, Arthur Fils, ranked 11th and 8th in the Race, inherits the top seeding, with a place at the Finals in his sights. The Brussels draw.

Mpetshi Perricard, eight defeats in a row

In Brussels qualifying, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, 23, lost again, to Switzerland’s Rémy Bertola, ranked 227th (7-6 [4], 6-7 [2], 7-5): an eighth straight defeat for the Frenchman. The report at L’Équipe.