Rafael Jodar became the youngest semifinalist in Shanghai Masters history after beating Casper Ruud on Friday, rallying from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The 20-year-old Spaniard lost the opening set but recovered to secure victory. It was the fourth straight match at the ATP Masters 1000 event in which Jodar had come back from losing the first set.
“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.”
Jodar Breaks Ruud Five Times
Jodar took control in the later stages, breaking Ruud’s serve five times across the second and third sets. He completed the win in 2 hours 20 minutes.
Jodar will now face the winner of the match between Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul in the semifinals.