Rafael Jodar has continued his breakthrough campaign at the Madrid Open, earning a first-ever matchup with Jannik Sinner.

It’s a big step for the 19-year-old, who has already drawn comparisons to Carlos Alcaraz — currently sidelined from the clay court season with a wrist injury.

Sinner won’t face his usual rival in Madrid, but he’ll get his first look at Jodar after the youngster beat Vit Kopriva to reach the quarters.

Jodar continued his strong form in Madrid, defeating Kopriva 7-5, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals of his home Masters 1000 tournament on debut.

There was naturally plenty of build-up around the match between Jodar and Sinner, and the Spanish teenager spoke about the opportunity in his post-match press conference.

“Well, Jannik is a great player,” Jodar said about Sinner. “It will be a really good match tomorrow, and I’m really excited. I’m looking forward to playing Jannik for the first time tomorrow here in Madrid. But, yeah, I mean, it’s, yeah, very exciting to play against him for the first time here in my hometown.”

When asked what he admires most about Sinner’s game, Jodar found it difficult to single out just one aspect.

“Well, Jannik I think is a great player overall,” answered Jodar. “Yeah, you can see that in every match he plays he’s always very focused with the mentality and with a great mentality I think that helps him a lot during the matches.

Jodar has been dealing with increased attention as the only Spanish player left in either singles draw at the Madrid Open, especially with Carlos Alcaraz sidelined for the rest of the clay season due to a wrist injury.

The added focus hasn’t seemed to faze him so far. Playing in his hometown, he was asked about how he’s managing expectations as the local favourite.

“Yeah, I think just going step by step, match by match, I think that’s the most important thing, you know,” said Jodar. “When you are not thinking like in the future, you know, you are living in the present, and trying to give your best in the match you’re playing, I think that’s one of the keys to do well.”

He went on to say: “There are obviously some times where you’re not going to play that well. But in those times I think it’s very important to have the same mentality as you had in other matches where you’ve played better. Yeah, I think that’s one thing that I do pretty well.”

A win against Sinner would also boost Jodar’s chances of being seeded at Roland Garros later this year – another significant milestone for him. Sinner has never advanced past this stage before and will be looking to break through this time.

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