ATP Tour

Jodar ousts Carreno Busta again to emulate Nadal, Alcaraz at Wimbledon; Dimitrov wins again

Rafael Jodar conjured a piece of Grand Slam déjà vu on Thursday afternoon to keep his debut campaign at Wimbledon alive.

The #NextGenATP Spaniard rallied to a 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win against his countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in a match that was suspended on Wednesday evening due to darkness. The two players returned to No. 2 Court on Thursday with Carreno Busta leading by two sets to one and Jodar 2-1 ahead on serve in the fourth set, and it was the latter who went on to rally for a three-hour, 43-minute victory.

After levelling the match at two sets all, Jodar immediately carved out three break points at 0/40 in the opening game of the fifth. Carreno Busta fended off those three break points to hold, but Jodar bounced back from that disappointment by reeling off the next four games to set himself on the path to victory.

Jodar’s two-day win at SW19 marks the second consecutive Grand Slam event at which the fast-rising Spaniard has defeated the former World No. 10 Carreno Busta in five sets. At Roland Garros in May, he rallied from two sets down to defeat the 34-year-old Carreno Busta and reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final on just his second appearance at a major.

Jodar’s only previous experience at Wimbledon prior to this year came in 2024, when he reached the boys’ singles quarter-finals. By winning his first two matches as a professional at The All England Club (also his first tour-level matches on grass), the 19-year-old has become just the third Spanish teenager in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon men’s singles third round after former champions Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

"It's difficult, because you don't have a lot of time to reset your mind and to this new surface," Jodar said in his post-match press conference. "It's true it's my first time playing on grass. It wasn't like that when I started playing on clay this season, because I had already played a lot when I was younger on clay. So I just try to adapt.

"I got a good week of preparation here in Wimbledon the week before starting the tournament, so I'm confident with that. I try to give my best."

Jodar has enjoyed a stunning rise up the PIF ATP Rankings in the past 12 months. A year ago, he was the World No. 554, but he is currently the No. 25 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after earning his 26th tour-level match win of 2026. He will take on Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki next in London, where the winner will advance to a fourth-round showdown with defending champion Jannik Sinner or Jenson Brooksby.

In other action, Grigor Dimitrov earned the biggest win of his season, defeating 15th-seeded Czech Jakub Mensik 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to return to the third round at SW19.

The 35-year-old Bulgarian, who was forced to retire when leading Jannik Sinner by two sets to love last year due to a pectoral injury, sliced Mensik into submission in front of an electric crowd on No. 1 Court. The fan favourite sealed victory under the roof with a stunning forehand winner before he leapt into the London sky in celebration.

"I am so happy to be back and to be able to play in front of tennis in front of you guys," Dimitrov said in his on-court interview. "It is just a great match today. All I had to do was to come out and fight."

Dimitrov has endured a torrid 12 months following his heartbreaking injury, but can now look forward to a third-round clash with 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini. Dimitrov's best result at The Championships came in 2014 when he reached the semi-finals.

Berrettini downed Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to book his spot in the third round at Wimbledon for the fourth time but first since 2023. The Italian tasted success at Roland Garros last month, when he advanced to the quarter-finals.