Rafael Jodar produced a straight-sets win on the opening day of Wimbledon in what was also the youngster’s grass-court debut at Tour-level.
The 23rd seed beat home player Felix Gil 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to record his 25th win of the season. Jodar eased through the first two sets with relative ease before getting more sternly tested in the third by Gil, who had former player Kyle Edmund in his team watching. A debut win at Wimbledon is the latest of a series of milestones for the Spaniard, who only broke into the top 50 in April this year.
“This surface is a bit different from the other two. You have to pay more attention to every detail because everything goes very fast and if you don’t serve very well in one game, then getting that break back is difficult.” Jodar said during his press conference.
“I think I handled the situations well in the match today, so I’m happy about that.”
The 19-year-old rising star is playing in his first Tour-level event on the grass following a breakout clay swing where he won his first ATP title in Morocco before reaching the quarter-finals of two Masters 1000 events and the French Open. His previous experience playing on the surface dates back to his junior days two years ago when he reached the fourth round of the boys’ tournament at SW19.
“I think that really helped me to get used to the grass, let’s say.” Jodar reflected.
“But I think it’s a totally different story, where everyone (on the professional Tour), I think, plays better.
“It was a great experience to play juniors here, to get used to the tournament, to know where all the things are and how the transition works.”
Jodar is the fifth Spanish man to win a match at Wimbledon as a teenager in the Open Era. The others to do so are Sergi Bruguera, Tommy Robredo, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. As is the case with Carlos Alcaraz, the world No.26 gets the inevitable comparisons to Nadal.
As for his rise in recent weeks, Jodar believes adaptability is key.
“You have to adapt very well to all the surfaces, because you are playing — I mean, three weeks ago I was playing in the French Open on clay, and then you have to switch your mind and play on grass in the next week.” He said.
“So you just have to adapt as quickly as possible. That’s the goal for every player.”
Jodar is currently playing in only his third Grand Slam. He will face Pablo Carreño Busta in the second round.
