ATP Tour

Jodar reaches R4 at Roland Garros: 'I had to fight a lot'

Rafael Jodar was pushed to the limit by Alex Michelsen on Friday at Roland Garros, but the 19-year-old Spaniard showed impressive resilience to continue his outstanding clay-court run in 2026.

In a topsy turvy encounter, Jodar dug deep in the deciding set against the 21-year-old American to seal a 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory and reach the fourth round of a major for the first time. Jodar now boasts an 18-3 tour-level record on clay this year and has tied Jannik Sinner for the most victories on the surface in 2026.

“I’m super happy to be in the fourth round here at Roland Garros, it’s a dream come true,” Jodar said after his four-hour, 16-minute triumph. “I had to fight a lot today. It was a really tough match. Alex played great the whole match, so I want to congratulate him and wish him the best for the rest of the season.”

With his run in Paris so far, Jodar is up five spots to No. 24 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The Spaniard, who is seeded at a major for the first time in his career, claimed his maiden ATP Tour title in Marrakech last month before building on that success with back-to-back quarter-final appearances at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome respectively. Now, he is beginning to showcase his talent on a Grand Slam stage.

Jodar looked poised to take a commanding two-set lead against Michelsen when he served for the second set at 6-5, but with two consecutive double faults, he handed the break back to his opponent. Michelsen seized on the opening, taking the tie-break before carrying that momentum to a 2-1 lead in sets.

One of the defining qualities behind Jodar’s rise has been his composure and ability to recover from setbacks, and he demonstrated that again in Paris. Staying within striking distance, the Spaniard leaned heavily on his powerful forehand to build a 5-2 advantage in the fourth set, at which point Michelsen took a medical timeout to receive treatment on his lower back.

As Michelsen began to fade physically and Jodar settled into his rhythm, the Spaniard surged to an early break in the deciding set. However, that proved to be only the first of four breaks in a tense finale. Michelsen continued to fight, but Jodar ultimately thrilled the crowd with a brilliant closing stretch on Court Simonne-Mathieu.

After improving to a 2-0 fifth-set record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Jodar will now shift his focus to a fourth-round clash against fellow Spaniard and former World No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta.