With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by injury, Spain’s Rafael Jodar turned the absence into a moment of belief. The 19-year-old survived a four-hour five-set battle against 21-year-old Alex Michelsen, coming through after five-set tension on Roland Garros clay to bo
“Vamos. Rafa!” rippled around Court Simone-Mathieu as Rafael Jodar scurried across the clay. fist pumping and two-handed backhands thudding into the corners. It was the kind of noise that normally belongs to one man—Rafael Nadal—and yet Friday’s hero in Paris wore the same first name. moving with the confidence of someone who already belongs under the French Open lights.
Jodar had his fans through a proper test. In only his third match at Roland Garros. he needed a four-hour. five-set epic to make the fourth round. after he was taken the distance just three times across his entire Roland Garros career. His opponent was 21-year-old American Alex Michelsen. and the match swung when it mattered. with Jodar eventually booking his place in the last 16.
He will face countryman Pablo Carreno Busta on Saturday.
The scoreline told the story of a player who refuses to blink under pressure: Jodar came from a set down. tightened his game as the heat—34ºC with rising humidity—sat heavy over Paris. then delivered the decisive moments in the decider. After striking a ruthless double-handed backhand into one corner to move 5-3 up. he closed the finale with a forehand to the opposite side. Michelsen. after four hours and 16 minutes of giving everything. finally slumped—shoulders dropping and head dipping—as the point ended and the momentum slipped away.
When Jodar landed the winning blow, he dropped his racquet to the ground and pointed to his head. People who have worked with him say his focus is unlike anything they’ve seen at his age. He explained it simply after the match: “The match is not over until you finish the last point.”
He added: “That was my mentality during the fourth and the fifth set and that was one of the reasons I could turn around this match.”
That turnaround matters even more because the draw opened up after Jannik Sinner’s loss. leaving real talk that this Spanish teenager could go all the way. Jodar’s track record on clay helps explain the buzz. This was his 21st Tour-level match on clay, and he has won 18 of them. Only Andy Roddick won more across his first 20. On the broader numbers. Jodar has won more than Nadal (13). Alcaraz (13). Novak Djokovic (10) and Roger Federer (16) managed—an eye-catching comparison for a player still early in his career.
Even on a sweltering day, the court at Roland Garros barely had a seat empty on Court Simone-Mathieu. The setting is one of the tournament’s most distinctive—surrounded by greenhouses—and you could feel how much the crowd had attached itself to this moment. especially with Carlos Alcaraz absent due to injury.
The presence of Spain’s next clay-court hope was impossible to miss. Jodar was cheered to the rafters during his five-set win, and he has already stacked momentum beyond the Paris clay. He has won a title in Marrakech, made the quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome, and reached the semi-finals in Barcelona.
His rise into stardom came in Madrid when Alcaraz withdrew injured on the eve of the event. Jodar took centre stage, reaching the last eight where only Sinner could stop him.
Football crossed over into the tennis courts too. Even Jude Bellingham—Jodar’s favourite footballer—sat courtside. After Jodar fought back from a set down to defeat Dutchman Jesper de Jong. he turned towards Bellingham. stood with his arms outstretched in tribute to the midfielder’s trademark celebration. and signed “Hey Jude” on the TV camera. On Friday, Bellingham was again there to watch history-in-motion.
Still, with stardom comes scrutiny, and Jodar has had to handle more than the usual pressure that follows a breakout. During his victory. viral footage circulated on social media that appeared to show him shoving a ball girl out the way as he left court. He was questioned about it after the match. but it later became clear that he was the victim of terrible timing and the camera angle as the ball girl tripped on the court covers.
His tennis influences are part of the story too. Jodar said: “My role model in tennis when I was younger was Nadal.” He then added that in the last few years before turning pro. he would say Alcaraz. But he insists on charting his own route: “But I try to follow my own path. I try to develop as a player, but with my own spirit.”.
Jodar’s win was part of a wider day of shocks at Roland Garros. Eighth seed Alex de Minaur—fiance of Britain’s Katie Boulter—was the tournament’s latest big-name casualty, beaten 0-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 by 26th seed Jakub Mensik.
Rafael Jodar Alex Michelsen Pablo Carreno Busta French Open Roland Garros tennis Carlos Alcaraz Jannik Sinner Andy Roddick Jakub Mensik Alex de Minaur
Five sets?? That sounds like a glitch, just end it in 3 lol.
I saw Alcaraz was injured so I assumed Jodar would get an easy match. But four hours?? Also 34 degrees? No thanks, my legs would be done by set 2.
Wait so Rafael Jodar survived five sets meaning he got hurt too? Like I thought “survives” meant he was barely okay. If he has Nadal vibes because of the first name then that’s kind of funny.
Roland Garros tennis is brutal, clay just slows everything down. Honestly I don’t even care who’s playing, but seeing someone point to their head after a win makes me think nerves were the whole thing. He’ll probably smoke the next guy… unless the heat hits again and he fades, idk.