Rafael Jodar has won 11 of the 12 matches he’s played on clay this year.
With Carlos Alcaraz missing in Madrid, Jodar has stepped up to fly the flag for Spanish tennis.
The 19-year-old has beaten Alex de Minaur and Joao Fonseca in the Spanish capital, securing his place in the fourth round of the Madrid Open.
Will Rafa Jodar win more Grand Slam titles than Joao Fonseca in his career?
Former world number one Andy Roddick has been impressed with Jodar, but has now warned fans what they shouldn’t do when he travels to Paris next month.
Andy Roddick tells tennis fans not to go ‘crazy’ if Rafael Jodar loses at Roland Garros
During the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘, the American looked ahead to Roland Garros.
“Three out of five is different,” said Roddick.
“Don’t everyone go crazy if [Rafael] Jodar loses a tough five-setter at Roland Garros.
“You don’t get anointed, you have to earn your place.“
Roddick isn’t getting ahead of himself, even if he does think highly of the world number 42.
“Thank goodness there is finally a good player from Spain!” said Roddick.
“I’ll tell you this, you look for certain score lines against certain types of players. In our generation, let’s say it was a [Juan Martin] Del Potro coming up, and all of a sudden he takes out a David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, you’re going ‘Oh, s—’. When a young player goes after the type of player like a Demon [Alex de Minaur], and rolls him, you’re going, ‘Oh, this has something elite attached to it.’
“Is it ball striking? You’re not going to beat Demon on craftiness, consistency, and athleticism; there has to be an elite skillset to do that.
“And then, to beat [Joao] Fonseca, this kid is rolling, the real deal!”
Roddick recalled the first time he watched Jodar play, at this year’s Dallas Open.
“I watched him in Dallas, he was playing on Centre [Court], I was like ‘I need to see this kid’. I went out and watched, probably six or seven games live, because live tells a different story than on TV sometimes,” he said.
“Every ball is coming off hot, without the intent of, ‘I’m going to step in and punish one’. He’s got those long levers, and it seems like he’s matching up the movement with the ability to hit it big.
“Because when you see someone young who hits it as big as he does, you go ‘Ok, is he going to be able to get into position all the time to give the ball a ride?’. In February, qualies match, the court is a little bit faster, maybe? I don’t know…
“Fast forward to late April, beginning of May, it’s syncing up, and it’s syncing up very quickly.
Rafael Jodar’s record on clay in 2026 (11-1)
- Grand Prix Hassan II 1R [WIN] vs Dusan Lajovic, 6-3, 6-4
- Grand Prix Hassan II 2R [WIN] vs Tomas Machac, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
- Grand Prix Hassan II QF [WIN] vs Alexandre Muller, 6-2, 2-0 (RET)
- Grand Prix Hassan II SF [WIN] vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli, 6-2, 6-1
- Grand Prix Hassan II F [WIN] vs Marco Trungelliti, 6-3, 6-2
- Barcelona Open 1R [WIN] vs Jaume Munar, 6-1, 6-2
- Barcelona Open 2R [WIN] vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli, 6-3, 6-3
- Barcelona Open QF [WIN] vs Cameron Norrie, 6-3, 6-2
- Barcelona Open SF [LOSS] vs Arthur Fils, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6
- Madrid Open 1R [WIN] vs Jesper De Jong, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
- Madrid Open 2R [WIN] vs Alex de Minaur, 6-3, 6-1
- Madrid Open 3R [WIN] vs Joao Fonseca, 7-6, 4-6, 6-1
“This doesn’t feel like, sometimes when you see a young player and they catch a hot streak, and the wins are maybe form-dependent…
“This doesn’t feel form-dependent; this feels extremely reliable.
“You watch his matches against demon and Joao Fonseca, it doesn’t feel like he’s riding a wave, it feels like this is clinical and the way he is.”
Roddick continued, making comparisons between Jodar and his fellow 19-year-old, Fonseca.
“It’s interesting, also, is this going to be a good thing for Fonseca?” asked Roddick.
“It’s weird when you’re the up-and-coming guy, and then you take your first loss to someone who is your age or younger.
“When you’ve been the hyped guy for two years, you skipped UVA [University of Virginia], the other guy goes, you win some titles, the other guy is in college… His first natural peer, it’s interesting, it’s pretty fun!
“At this point, we’re looking for that group, and everything begins and ends with [Carlos] Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner.
“So we’re looking at 19-year-olds, whether it’s Fonseca or Jodar, we’re going, ‘What do they look like a year from now?”
Only time will tell what the future holds for two of the brightest prospects in men’s tennis…
What’s next for Rafael Jodar in Madrid?
Jodar will play Czechia’s Vit Kopriva in the fourth round of the Madrid Open.
Kopriva is the world number 66 and has yet to win a tour-level title at 28.
The Spaniard will walk on the court as a big favourite, but it remains to be seen if he can handle the pressure.
Jodar and Kopriva will battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, April 28.
