Jannik Sinner’s dedication moves Rafael Jodar: "You are the best"

Jannik Sinner praised Rafael Jodar for challenging him in their highly anticipated Madrid Masters 1000 quarterfinal match, and the very young Spaniard reciprocated with equally important words of esteem and gratitude. The class of 2006, Spain’s great tennis hope, also focused on the ATP number 1 ranking’s dedication to him, admitting how important such a certificate is to him.

Sinner’s first thought after his victory, which earned him his first career semifinal at the Madrid Open, was precisely for Jodar. “What a player” was the inscription chosen by the South Tyrolean to accompany his now customary end-of-match autograph on camera. “He has all my respect for writing just that,” commented the very young Spanish tennis player.

“The match was really tough, Jannik was formidable throughout the entire match,” Jodar then said about the great challenge in Madrid. “I still have a long way to go, now I have to keep growing. I have to handle individual situations better, I want to review the whole match to see what I could have handled better. However, I learned something that will come in handy. Sinner has all the shots it takes to win, I think that’s what makes him the best of all.” And the champion from Sesto Pusteria, already on good terms with Carlos Alcaraz as well, may have found another Spaniard with whom the rivalry could go hand in hand with a solid friendship.

Telling the complexity of the match are the numbers of the second set, which lasted almost an hour and a quarter: Sinner had to cancel no less than five break points to the young Jodar, two in the sixth game and as many as three in the eighth, before finding his way to the tie-break. In the final game, however, the South Tyrolean was simply flawless, racking up eleven consecutive points between the twelfth game and the tie-break and not conceding a single point to his opponent in the final act, which closed with a clear 7-6(0). The match was played with the roof closed on the Manolo Santana Stadium, a condition that had caused discussion on the eve of the match: as pointed out by the Spanish press, and in particular by ‘Marca’, Sinner boasts extraordinary indoor numbers, with 91 wins in 112 indoor matches and an 81.3% success rate. For Jodar, on the other hand, it was still an unfamiliar context, with just four career matches played indoors and a record of two wins and two losses.

To fully understand the value of Sinner’s victory, it is worth recalling Jodar’s extraordinary journey in the Caja Magica. 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. A path that had made him forget, at least temporarily, the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, who was stuck in the pits due to a wrist problem, and that had prompted Boris Becker to remark, “He reminds me of Sinner, he is a very complete player.”

With the victory over Jodar, Sinner continues his pursuit of a historic feat: the fifth consecutive Masters 1000, a goal that no player has ever managed to achieve in the past. The Italian was already coming off a hat trick in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, a feat previously achieved only by Novak Djokovic. In the semifinals, the South Tyrolean 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.

The challenge between Sinner and Jodar drew a true parterre de rois to the Caja Magica. In the stands of the Manolo Santana Stadium peeped, among others, Bernie Ecclestone himself: the historic Formula 1 boss, now 95 years old, was inevitably immortalized by the cameras as he watched with great attention the exploits of the two champions. There was no shortage of faces from Madrid soccer, with Raul Gonzalez Blanco, Real Madrid’s historic captain, and two modern-day symbols of the Merengues such as Thibaut Courtois and Jude Bellingham, seated in the stands next to young Argentine trequartista Franco Mastantuono. Also in attendance was Romanian billionaire Ion Tiriac, who just two weeks ago had unburdened himself in enthusiastic statements about the South Tyrolean: “His commercial value is at least 100 million euros a year, more than double that of a footballer. I am convinced that he can complete the Grand Slam one day, becoming Rod Laver’s successor in this regard,” even going so far as to predict for Sinner a career haul of at least twenty Slams.