Jannik Sinner beats Rafael Jodar in two sets: he’s in the semifinals in Madrid
Jannik Sinner hit the Madrid Masters 1000 semifinals for the first time, beating Spanish tennis new sensation Rafael Jodar in two sets for a total duration of one hour and 56 minutes. After a first set in which the South Tyrolean managed to change pace after a complex start and dominated his young rival, the 2006-born Iberian prodigy sold his skin dearly in the second. With eleven consecutive points between the twelfth game and the tie-break, however, the champion from Sesto Pusteria managed to close the score on 6-2, 7-6(0) by not conceding a single point to his young opponent in the tie-break. Next challenge against the winner of the match between Arthur Fils and Jiri Lehecka.
The second set, which lasted almost an hour and a quarter, proved complex for Sinner, who was forced to cancel as many as five break points to the young Jodar (two in the sixth, even three in the eighth game). Even the very young Spaniard did not lose his bearings, however, cancelling three in turn for the ATP No. 1 ranking player, taking the 5-4 point that forced the set to end in a tie-break. Only in the final, then, did he give in crashing in the face of his emblazoned opponent.
The match was played on the Manolo Santana Stadium with the roof closed, a condition that favored the Italian in no small part: as the Spanish press had pointed out on the eve of the match, Sinner boasts extraordinary indoor numbers, with 91 wins in 112 indoor matches and an 81.3 percent success rate. For Jodar, on the contrary, it was still an unfamiliar context, with just four career matches played indoors and a record of two wins and two losses.
The script of the first set closely recalled the one staged just a day earlier against Cameron Norrie: on that occasion, too, Sinner had closed the opening set 6-2, imposing his law with his backhand and commanding from the center of the court. A tactical signature that was repeated consistently in the Madrid tournament. In the fifth game had come the decisive turning point of the first partial, with the Italian able to win the break thanks to a long backhand of great precision, before getting a second break to nil that had sent Jodar to 2-5.
For the Spaniard, however, it was a head-on exit at the end of an extraordinary tournament. The Madrid native, born and raised in the Spanish capital, had made it to the quarters at his third career Masters 1000, eliminating in order Jesper de Jong, top 10 Alex de Minaur, Brazilian Joao Fonseca, and finally Czech Vit Kopriva with a clear 7-5, 6-0. It was a path that made them forget, at least temporarily, the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, who was stuck in the pits with a wrist problem. It is no coincidence that Boris Becker had sentenced on the eve of the match, “He reminds me of Sinner, he is a very complete player.”
Sinner himself had spoken words of high esteem for his opponent in the days leading up to the match: “In the hotel I had managed to review his entire match with Fonseca: he plays at a really high level. He is a player of great quality and I am convinced that we will cross paths often in the future.” The South Tyrolean had then added how the quarterfinal could have a value beyond the simple result: “Facing him already here will be useful, also to understand the sensations in view of important appointments such as Rome and Roland Garros.”
With today’s victory, Sinner continues his hunt for a historic feat: the fifth consecutive Masters 1000, a goal that no player has ever managed to achieve in the past. In the semifinals, the Italian will find the winner between Arthur Fils and Jiri Lehecka, the Czech who has already proved his worth in this tournament by eliminating Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16 with a clear double 6-3, confirming the solidity shown during a season that had already seen him reach the final at the Miami Masters 1000.
