The 25th-seeded Davidovich Fokina is set to climb 13 places after Sunday's triumph to a career-high world number 13.
But there was anti-climax for the 20-year-old Jodar, playing in his first Masters 1000 final and the youngest Shanghai finalist in tournament history, after he'd made a blistering start, looking unstoppable as he roared through the first set and breaking Davidovich Fokina again in the second.
But 27-year-old Davidovich Fokina saved break points in three successive service games as he battled back in the second set before edging a tight tiebreak to force a decider.
The momentum then swung decisively in Davidovich Fokina's favour when he broke the 12th-seeded Jodar twice and sealed victory in two hours and 27 minutes.
"I have a blank mind," Davidovich Fokina, who's known as 'the Bull' when playing in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown competition, said.
"I don't know what to say and I don't know how I feel. Just a huge relief.
"After the first set I had to keep trying, keep pushing. In the tiebreak, I believed in myself again. In the third set, maybe I had a bit more fitness physically."
It was the third ATP singles title of Davidovich Fokina's career, adding to his ATP 250 triumphs in Chengdu and Mallorca this season, and it looks as if he is now really beginning to fulfill all the promise of his early career.
The 20-year-old Jodar, who was ranked outside the world's top 900 little more than a year ago, at least strengthened his bid to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin in his first full season on tour.
