The Spanish faithful surely wanted to witness Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Instead, the fans at the Caja Magica will be treated to a different player hailing from the host nation testing his mettle against Sinner in the quarterfinals of the season’s second clay-court Masters 1000 event.
It’s Rafael Jodar, whose sudden rise has cemented his status as one of tennis’ most-hyped rising stars — right up there with Joao Fonseca.
Based on their head-to-head matchup at this tournament, Jodar might even be ahead of Fonseca. The Madrid native took down his fellow 19-year-old 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-1 on Sunday, a huge result among many in what has been a meteoric rise. Jodar, who played for the University of Virginia in 2025, was ranked 540th last August. He is now at No. 42 thanks in part to a recent ATP title in Marrakech and 17 main-tour match wins already this year. In addition to beating Fonseca, Jodar booked his spot in the last eight by also beating Jesper de Jong, Alex de Minaur, and Vit Kopriva.
Sinner dropped his opening set of the fortnight against Benjamin Bonzi, but it has since been one-way traffic for the world No. 1. He won that match 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4 before defeating Elmer Moller 6-2, 6-3 and Cameron Norrie 6-2, 7-5. Sinner is now 8-0 on the clay-court swing with a triumph in Monte-Carlo — where he knocked off Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Zverev, and Alcaraz.
There is no denying that Jodar is on fire right now, but — understandably at his age — inconsistency can be an issue. Of his eight losses in 2026, six have come in straight sets. And in the very early stages of his career, he is obviously unproven against elite competition. De Minaur and Arthur Fils (a three-set loss in the Barcelona semifinals) are the best players Jodar has ever faced.
Jodar-mania would ascend to a new dimension if he somehow beats Sinner in front of the home crowd on Wednesday…but that will probably have to wait.
Pick: Sinner in 2