A surprising semifinal lineup in Barcelona features two unseeded players — and Arthur Fils wasn’t even seeded when the draw initially came out. Fils faces Rafael Jodar on Saturday, while Andrey Rublev meets Hamad Medjedovic.
(WC) Rafael Jodar vs. (9) Arthur Fils
Aside from Fils’ first-round thriller against Terence Atmane in which the 21-year-old saved two match points, he and Jodar are absolutely crushing people at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Fils followed up his 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) victory over Atmane by erasing Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-3 and Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-4. Jodar has knocked off Jaume Munar 6-1, 6-2, Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-3, and Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-2.
With both guys in outstanding form, their first-ever encounter on Saturday should be a fun one. Jodar is on an eight-match winning streak that includes his first ATP title on the red clay of Marrakech. Dating back to Miami qualifying, the 19-year-old Spaniard is 12-1 in his last 13 matches. Unfortunately for Jodar, very few players are as hot as Fils these days. The 21-year-old Frenchman was runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in Doha, a quarterfinalist in Indian Wells, and a semifinalist in Miami. Fils’ forehand and his experience at the business end of high-level tournaments should make the difference on Friday.
Pick: Fils in 2
(5) Andrey Rublev vs. (Q) Hamad Medjedovic
There is one wild card (Jodar) and one qualifier (Medjedovic) in the Barcelona semis. Medjedovic earned his spot in the main draw with victories over Vilius Gaubas and Quentin Halys (in a third-set tiebreaker) before parlaying that success into straight-set defeats of Marco Trungelliti, Alex de Minaur, and Nuno Borges. This is the 88th-ranked Serb’s first tour-level semifinal appearance since reaching the Marseille title match in February of 2025.
Up next for Medjedovic on Saturday is a first-ever meeting with Rublev, who has advanced with straight-set wins over Mariano Navone, Lorenzo Sonego, and Tomas Machac. The 15th-ranked Russian has not even been pushed to a tiebreaker. Consistency has not been Rublev’s forte in 2026, but his ceiling remains quite high — and that ceiling has been on display this week. If the No. 5 seed maintains his current form, he should dominate the forehand-to-forehand rallies and secure a place in the final.
Pick: Rublev in 3