Rafa Jódar will play his first Masters 1,000 semifinal in Montreal after defeating Arthur Fils last night (7-6(5) and 6-3), a victory that temporarily moves him up to 11th in the world rankings. The 19-year-old from Madrid had fallen in the quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome. His next opponent will be American Brandon Nakashima, ranked 25th, who had also never gone this far in a major.
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Jódar started dominating the first set, taking a 4-1 lead, although the Frenchman reacted to win three games in a row when a providential rain appeared, giving the Spaniard a break to win the tiebreak upon resumption. In the second set, Jódar broke his opponent’s serve for 4-3 and then took the next two games.
For the Madrid player, Montreal will be his fourth semifinal of the year, his debut season on the circuit, after Marrakech (champion), Barcelona, and Washington (finalist).
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Moreover, the victory over Fils not only puts Jódar on the doorstep of the Top 10, currently closed by American Ben Shelton, but also places him firmly in the race for the ATP Finals, where he temporarily rises to sixth place.
Jódar would be the first rookie on the circuit to qualify for the ATP Finals if he secures a ticket to Turin in November.
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