It cannot be said that the victory for Jannik Sinner it was really suffered, but certainly 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar, a rising tennis star, gave the world number one a run for his money in the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid. The score of two sets to love for the South Tyrolean is in fact partially misleading: the first set was very close despite finishing 6-2 to Sinner, while the second set went to a tie break, where Jannik prevailed 7-0.
Sinner qualifies for the first time in the semifinals in Madrid
The challenge between the two was valid precisely for the quarter-final of the tournament underway on the red clay of Madrid, and so Jannik Sinner has qualified for the semifinals of this tournament for the first time in his career, having missed last year's event due to a suspension for an involuntary doping case. For Jodar, in his first year as a professional, this is nevertheless a head-high exit: in just a few months on the tour, he has already won 15 matches and one ATP 500 tournament, the one in Barcelona. At just 19 years old, she will probably be seeded at the next Roland Garros, where Sinner's great rival, Carlos Alcaraz, will be missing due to a wrist injury.
Jannik awaits the winner of Lehecka-Fils, here are the precedents with the two
In the semifinal scheduled for Friday, Sinner will meet the winner of the challenge between the Czech Jiri Lehecka, who eliminated the other Italian Lorenzo Musetti, and the emerging Frenchman Arthur Fils. Jannik has already played Lehecka four times, winning each time: at the 2024 Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, in Beijing in 2024, in the third round of Roland Garros in 2025, and in the final of the Miami Masters 1000 this year. He has only one previous meeting against Fils, dating back to 2023 in the semifinal of the Montpellier tournament: Sinner defeated him in straight sets, while in the same year, in Marseille, Fils retired.
