Spanish tennis is the present that retains on giving.
At a match that started underneath a cloud—after Carlos Alcaraz introduced his withdrawal from the clay-court season resulting from a wrist harm—19-year-old wild card Rafael Jodar has emerged as a shiny new storyline, bringing his personal model of tennis sunshine to the Caja Mágica in Madrid.
The surging Spaniard stored his momentum rolling on Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Czech Vit Kopriva, turning into the sixth teenager to succeed in the quarterfinals in Madrid Open historical past.
Jodar, this yr’s Marrakech champion, has now gained 12 of his final 13 matches and can subsequent face World No. 1 Jannik Sinner—who arrives on a 20-match profitable streak.
Requested concerning the looming matchup, Jodar mentioned:
“It’s one other alternative.”
Kopriva’s alternative was rapidly extinguished by the in-form World No. 42, who wanted simply 80 minutes to get the job achieved.
Jodar gained 19 of 23 second-serve factors and saved each break factors he confronted. After sealing the primary set with a love maintain, he reeled off eight consecutive video games to shut out the match in emphatic trend.
Jodar, who spent a season on the College of Virginia earlier than turning skilled final yr, is the third Spanish teenager to succeed in the Madrid quarterfinals this century, and the fourth wild card to take action.
He’s additionally certainly one of a choose group of youngsters to succeed in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal within the 2020s, becoming a member of Carlos Alcaraz, Jakub Mensik, Holger Rune, Joao Fonseca and Jannik Sinner.
Sinner, for his half, is keen to see what the younger Spaniard brings to the courtroom. The World No. 1 informed reporters he would quite face Jodar sooner quite than later, viewing the matchup as a helpful check forward of the largest occasions of the clay season.
“It will be good if I face him earlier than the larger tournaments developing—Rome after which Roland-Garros,” Sinner mentioned. “The circumstances listed here are very distinctive. He’s from Madrid, so he’s very used to them. However on the similar time, it may give me actually good suggestions heading into these greater occasions.”
