Madrid Open Magic: Rafael Jodar reflects on blockbuster win against de Alex De Minaur

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Rafael Jodar continues brilliant breakout season with Madrid Open win over Alex De Minaur

Rafael Jodar produced a stunning upset in front of his home crowd to knock out seventh seed Alex de Minaur at the Madrid Open.

The 19-year-old Spaniard, who is quickly emerging as one of the sport’s rising stars, swept aside De Minaur 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the third round.

It was Jodar’s first career victory over a top-ten player and continued a difficult stretch for De Minaur, who has struggled to find form recently.

Ranked 42nd in the world, Jodar is becoming a familiar name after his impressive run to the semifinals in Barcelona. His progress hasn’t gone unnoticed, and this win will only add to his growing reputation.

After sealing the biggest win of his young career so far, Jodar admitted he hadn’t expected things to come together this quickly on tour.

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Rafael Jodar shares thoughts on the win over Alex de Minaur

Speaking after the match, Jodar reflected on his rise: “Everything is happening very fast, I’m playing lots of tournaments and matches.

“That is allowing me to compete against many high-level players and improve my tennis. When you face these opponents, who are the best on Tour, that’s when you really raise your level.

“Today, my aim was to enjoy myself because you don’t play against an opponent like Alex every day. In front of all the people who came to support me, I tried to savour the moment.

“I knew I had to enjoy myself, if I had a shot, I had to go for it. I knew things would get tough, because the score doesn’t reflect how hard the match was.