Rafael Jodar became the youngest semifinalist in Shanghai Masters history after beating Casper Ruud on Friday. The 20-year-old Spaniard lost the first set but rallied to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
It was the fourth straight match at the ATP Masters 1000 event in which Jodar had come back from losing the opening set.
A tough battle back
Jodar admitted that Ruud had been the better player early on. “Casper, I think, played the important points in the first set better than me,” Jodar said. “I couldn’t win the break points because of his serve, so I knew I wanted to come back again. It was very tough, so I had to give my best level today to win this match.”
Breaking through in the final two sets
Jodar took control after the first set, breaking Ruud’s serve five times in the second and third sets. He completed the victory in 2 hours 20 minutes.
Jodar will face the winner of the match between Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul in the semifinals.