Rafael Jodar admits he will need to keep improving his game if he wants to get to the top of men’s tennis.
The 20-year-old is enjoying a breakthrough season, rising in the ATP rankings from outside the top 160 in January to his current position of 14th. He has been as high as 11th in the world. Jodar won his maiden ATP trophy in Morocco during an impressive clay season for the youngster. He also reached the semi-finals of an ATP 500 event in Barcelona and then the quarter-finals at two Masters 1000 events, as well as the French Open in what was his best Grand Slam performance so far.
More recently, Jodar was runner-up at the Citi Open in Washington and a semi-finalist at the Canadian Masters. His win-loss record for the season currently stands at 36-15.
“It’s my first year on the circuit; I know there’s still plenty of room for improvement,” he said during an interview with the EFE news agency.
“Everything that happens to me this year will be new to me and will be new experiences. I hope these experiences and everything I learn will stand me in good stead for the future – for the years and seasons to come.
“I think I’m coping very well. I’m playing lots of matches and progressing in every tournament thanks to my results. I’m very happy about that. I’m trying to do my best and have a close circle of people who always support me, both in the good times and the bad.”
Whilst he is emerging as one of the sport’s rising stars, Jodar is currently 1-5 against top 10 players this season. His sole victory was over Alex de Minaur at the Madrid Open. Earlier this month, he suffered a shock first round loss at the US Open to Yunchaokete Bu.
“I’m going to have to learn a lot about coping with playing so many tournaments in a year, and facing different opponents every week or at every tournament,” he admits.
“If you want to be among the world’s best players for many years to come, you have to pay meticulous attention to every detail and do everything very well. You have to realise that there will be times when things don’t go your way, but you have to accept those moments, overcome them and maintain a positive mindset of improving bit by bit.” Jodar later added.
Jodar is scheduled to return to action this week for Spain’s Davis Cup clash against Chile. However, doubts has been cast over his fitness after Chilean radio station Radio Cooperativa reported that he experianced an issue with his leg and suffered from a stomach problem before ending his practice session early on Wednesday.
The Spanish team, which is captained by David Ferrer, hasn’t commented on report.
