This is Rafael Jodar’s first Wimbledon and yet the way the 19-year-old plays and talks, you would think he is playing his 10th. Trailing two sets to one to another Spaniard, Pablo Carrenño Busta, in a match held over from the previous evening when the light ran out, he could easily have been nervous when the encounter resumed, thinking his first time here could be about to end.
- Rafael Jodar recovered to win a five-set match, 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, advancing to the third round.
- Jodar said he believed in his chances and prepared physically and mentally overnight to win the fourth and fifth sets.
- He adapted to different morning conditions, attributing success to a week of preparation at Wimbledon before the tournament.
- He will play Shintaro Mochizuki next, with a likely last-16 matchup against defending champion Jannik Sinner awaiting.
- Top seeds Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, and Taylor Fritz all advanced; several other players reached the third round.
Not a bit of it. Jodar quickly levelled and then edged the fifth to win 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 and move into the third round. “I knew I had to get my body ready for the next day, because obviously I was down,” said Jodar, who has burst on to the scene this year and who reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros last month. “But I believed in my chances. I believed that I could come back and win the fourth set and then the fifth set. That’s what happened.
“I started pretty well this morning. I knew the conditions were different, so I had to adapt to that, as well. But for him, it was same. So it’s same conditions for both. I think I did a great job when we stopped the match last night until I stepped on the court this morning.”
Jodar will play Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan in the third round, with the carrot of a likely last-16 match against the defending champion, Jannik Sinner. Not only is this his first time at Wimbledon; it’s also his first grass-court event, but he seems to be oblivious to any problems that may bring.
“You don’t have a lot of time to reset your mind to this new surface,” he said. “It’s true it’s my first time playing on grass. It wasn’t like that when I started playing on clay this season, because I had already played a lot when I was younger on clay. I just try to adapt. I got a good week of preparation here in Wimbledon the week before starting the tournament, so I’m confident with that. I try to give my best.”
The second seed, Alexander Zverev, fresh off his first grand slam title at Roland Garros, beat Valentin Royer of France 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (3), while the fifth seed, Alex de Minaur, saw off Adrian Mannarino of France 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and the No 6, Taylor Fritz, beat fellow American Patrick Kipson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5.
With the No 4 seed, Ben Shelton, gone from his section, in theory, the draw is opening up for De Minaur. But the Australian insists he is not looking any further ahead than a third-round meeting with Zachary Svajda of the US. “Seeds lose, upsets happen,” he said. “This sport is unpredictable. It’s not straightforward, so whether you’re ranked higher than your opponent, it really means nothing when you go into the match. You both start the same. It’s just another match.”
Fritz will play Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in the third round, having negotiated tricky conditions early on before the sunshine took over. “It was super windy in the beginning,” he said. “I felt a little nervy because it’s sometimes tough to trust my shots when it’s so windy. I settled into the match well, did a good job returning his serve. I thought I served really well most of the match, outside of just one game. In the end it was just a clean match.”
Flavio Cobolli, the Italian who reached his first slam final at Roland Garros, battled past Australia’s James Duckworth 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 while Czechia’s Jiri Lehecka, Zizou Bergs and American Marcos Giron all advanced to the third round.
