ATP Tour

Jodar drops 3 games in stunning Cincinnati win, matches Alcaraz & Shelton feat

After an adverse start to his Cincinnati Open debut, Rafael Jodar rediscovered his clinical best on Monday afternoon.

The 19-year-old Spaniard produced a string of flashy winners en route to defeating Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-1 and reaching the fourth round at the ATP Masters 1000 event, continuing his spectacular 2026 season. With his 75-minute victory, Jodar joined Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton as the only teenagers to reach the Round of 16 in Cincinnati this decade.

Having saved a match point and reeled off six straight games from 1-5 down in the final set against Denis Shapovalov in his opening match, Jodar was back to his blistering best against Tabilo. The #NextGenATP star struck 26 winners as he improved to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Tabilo, having also defeated the Chilean in Washington 15 days ago.

“That match against Denis gave me a lot of confidence,” Jodar said. “I pushed myself to the limit and I worked very hard to win. But every match is tough. [It’s not] because the result seemed a bit easier means the match is easier. Everyone here plays very good, so I had to give my best today to beat Tabilo, and I have to give my best level in all the matches.”

At the beginning of August last year, Jodar was ranked outside the world’s Top 500. Now, with 36 tour-level wins in 2026, the Spaniard is on the brink of a Top-10 debut at No. 11 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The 6’3” talent is also up to seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as he chases a place at the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals in his first season on Tour.

Jodar will next meet World No. 10 Flavio Cobolli, who earlier found a late surge to overcome Alexander Blockx 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. The 24-year-old Italian won four consecutive games from 3-5 down in the final set to reach the fourth round at a Masters 1000 event for the fourth time in his career.

Jodar’s fellow #NextGenATP Spaniard, 20-year-old Martin Landaluce, was unable to secure his place in the last 16. Landaluce fell to Novak Djokovic’s conqueror, Thiago Agustin Tirante, 7-6(5), 7-6(4).