Overview
- World No. 1 Jannik Sinner beat 19-year-old Rafael Jodar 6-2, 7-6 (7-0) on Wednesday to reach the Madrid Open semi-finals and become the sixth man to make the last four at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.
- Sinner saved every break point he faced and closed with authority, winning the final 11 points and sweeping the second-set tiebreak 7-0.
- The Italian will face Arthur Fils in Friday’s semi-final after the Frenchman defeated Jiri Lehecka, setting up a meeting of two players unbeaten on clay this season.
- Sinner praised Jodar’s level, wrote “What a player” on the TV camera, and urged the teenager to manage hype and keep pressure low as his profile grows.
- Jodar’s rapid rise includes a first ATP title in Marrakech and a Barcelona semi-final, and his Madrid run lifts him from last year’s college ranks to a projected top-35 spot before the Italian Open.