Jannik wins in two sets against the nineteen-year-old Spaniard and then compliments him: “What a player”
He is nineteen and has a name that already makes Spaniards dream, recalling the legendary Nadal. Rafael Jodar it’s the future of tennis, we’ll find out how high it will reach but in the meantime yesterday it engaged the number one in the world like never before in this ATP 1000 Masters in Madrid Jannik Sinner who honored him at the end of the game: “What a player” said the blue after winning the twenty-first match in a row (twenty-sixth in the Masters 1000). Jodar was number 911 in March 2025 and today he climbed up to 34th place in the live rankings. He has everything to make his way into the elite of tennis, even if at the moment the distance with the world number 1 is evident, but the boy from Leganes, suffering his second defeat with 12 victories on clay in 2026, has great qualities. Courage, head and shots, for starters. And so while waiting for the next episodes we archive this first chapter of the Sinner-Jodar series with a 6-2 7-6 in one hour and 57 minutes.
The match
With the roof of the Caja Magica closed the challenge between Sinner and Jodar immediately started at a crazy pace but the Spaniard makes too many mistakes in the first set and the “cannibal” Sinner does not forgive, breaking his serve twice and easily closing the first set with a peremptory 6-2. But in the second there were opportunities on both fronts: Jodar has five break points but doesn’t exploit them because at that moment Sinner explains to everyone how to become the best of all. Sinner also has several opportunities to break his opponent’s serve but the boy saves himself. At 6-5 for Jodar and Jannik’s serve there is the epilogue of a match where experience. Eleven consecutive points from the South Tyrolean, four in the last game and seven in the tie-break in which Jodar didn’t score a single point. Applause to both of you: the boy has a great future, time will tell if he can reach Jannik’s level.
Satisfied sinner
In the semi-final Jannik Sinner will face the winner of the match between Fils and Lehecka. In the meantime he is enjoying the victory over the Spaniard: “Jodar pushed me to the limithe is an incredible player. It was the first time I faced it, next time I’ll know what to expect. I’m very happy with the victory, it was a high quality match. In the second set I had a bit of luck, now let’s think about the next round. Being in the semi-finals for the first time in Madrid means a lot.”
