Jódar, after losing the Shanghai final against Davidovich: “No, in the end they are points that if you don’t win, the game falls one way or the other. Today wasn’t the case, and if I am in another situation like this, I will try to manage it better”

It couldn’t be. Rafa Jódar was on the verge of achieving the first major title of his career after falling in the final of the Shanghai Masters 1,000 at the hands of his compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after a real great game in which he had his options.

“(I leave) with a mentality that I have done everything I could, that I have left everything on the track. Today I didn’t have much luck, or he played the important points better“he explained in statements to the media after the duel.

The man from Madrid assured that the key to the match was Davidovich taking the second set in the tie break: “There everything is left for the third set, and perhaps he came with a better dynamic. “Despite recovering a break, I didn’t play well in the third set, and he played better than me.”

“I had several break points in the second set and I didn’t take advantage of them“he stressed.

Jodar ruled out that his final defeat was related to lack of experience -he is the youngest finalist in the history of this tournament- and the greatest seniority of his rival, who had already played in a 1,000 Masters final, in Monaco 2022, with a defeat against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“No, in the end they are points that if you don’t win, the game falls on one side or the other. Today it was not, and if I am in another situation like this, I will try to manage it better,” he considered.

In any case, the young Iberian talent stated that he was “happy” to reach the final in his debut in Shanghai: “It has been a very good week. I have played many games. There are many things to improve for the next tournament. I haven’t won today, but I’m happy with how things are going” he concluded.