Jódar Wins Shanghai Debut Thriller to Keep Turin Dream Alive

Rafael Jódar's dream season rolled on in Shanghai on Saturday as the 20-year-old Spaniard came from a set down to beat Argentina's Thiago Agustín Tirante 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on his tournament debut and reach the third round. After a sluggish start, Jódar took complete command of his serve, winning 93 per cent of his first-serve points in the second set and saving nine of the ten break points he faced across the match. It was a welcome return to form for the 12th seed, who arrived in China after first-round defeats at the US Open and in Tokyo. His 2026 remains one of the stories of the year: he began January outside the world's top 100, lifted his maiden tour title in Marrakech in April, and reached the quarter-finals of the French Open to climb to No. 13 in the world. Jódar now sits 11th in the live Race to Turin and keeps an outside chance of qualifying for the ATP Finals — a remarkable prospect just a year after he was competing at the Next Gen event. He will face Jirí Lehecka, a three-set winner over Nuno Borges, for a place in the round of 16. Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime also survived three-set scares on a dramatic day four in Shanghai.