Rafael Jodar cemented his status as the best young talent on the ATP Tour with victory over Joao Fonseca on Sunday.
Jodar, who has risen to world number 34 in the ATP live rankings, defeated the Brazilian star 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 in the Madrid Open third round.
The 19-year-old Spaniard only turned professional at the start of this year, yet he has already beaten the likes of Cameron Norrie, Alex de Minaur and Joao Fonseca.
Will Rafa Jodar win more Grand Slam titles than Joao Fonseca in his career?
Jodar’s rapid development as a player has been extraordinary, and it is only a matter of time before he is challenging for the biggest titles on the ATP Tour.
Rafael Jodar is the man to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
You only have to watch Rafael Jodar once to understand just how special a talent he is.
At 19 years old, Jodar already possesses one of the most powerful games on the ATP Tour – the velocity of his game is already comparable to that of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
The likes of Joao Fonseca, Learner Tien and Jakub Mensik have all been touted as potential challengers to the dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner.
However, Jodar is simply a step above his young peers on the ATP Tour.
The Spaniard possesses all the tools to challenge those at in the ATP top 10: a potent serve, excellent movement, and an extraordinarily powerful forehand.
The 19-year-old demonstrated this during his match with Fonseca, hitting 28 winners and winning 81 per cent of his first serve points.
| Statistic | Fonseca | Jodar |
| Aces | 3 | 4 |
| Double faults | 2 | 1 |
| First-serve percentage | 66 | 59 |
| First-serve points won [%] | 69 | 81 |
| Average first-serve speed | 123 | 125 |
| Winners | 20 | 28 |
| Unforced errors | 26 | 29 |
The Spaniard also won 11 of 12 net points and struck an average first-serve speed of 125mph.
Jodar could have the opportunity to truly test his skills later this week, if he plays Jannik Sinner in the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
Jodar will play Vit Kopriva in the fourth round, while Sinner will face Cameron Norrie.
Rafael Jodar speaks about a potential rivalry with Joao Fonseca
“Joao has been doing very well this season, and I want to wish him all the best for this season and for his career because he has a brilliant career ahead of him,” Jodar said during his post-match press conference in Madrid.
“Time will tell if this is the start of a rivalry. It was a high-level match from both of us.”
Fonseca has been touted as the ATP Tour’s next superstar since stunning Andrey Rublev in the Australian Open first round last year.
Joao Fonseca will be the man to unsettle Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s duopoly over men’s tennis – Prove us wrong!
Since then, the Brazilian 19-year-old has won two ATP Tour titles – in Buenos Aires and Basel.
Fonseca and Jodar represent the next generation of ATP Tour stars, and one hopes that the pair play each other many times throughout their respective careers.
