Jodar came back from a set down to defeat Alejandro Tabilo, while Fritz toppled Brandon Nakashima.
After 11 PM on a muggy night in the nation’s capital, Rafael Jodar wasn’t exactly fresh as a daisy. Lathered in perspiration, clinging to a break lead against an in-form Alejandro Tabilo he was, however, a picture of concentration.
The 19-year-old finished off a gritty victory without ever surrendering a break to earn a spot in Sunday’s final, 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 23 minutes.
“I knew I was playing well,” Jodar said. “I think I stayed mentally very good today.”
It took Jodar a long time to earn a break against Tabilo, but once he did in the seventh game of the second set, the tone of the match changed.
After Jodar closed out the second set Tabilo lost the plot and double-faulted on break point in the first game of the third. That was all Jodar needed.
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He dropped just seven points on serve in the final set and booked his 30th win of 2026 against just 11 losses. Remarkably, the teenager entered the season with just two tour-level wins to his name and a ranking of 165. He is up to No.15 ahead of Sunday’s final, and could go as high as No.12 if he can get by Fritz.
Jodar, the eighth 19-year-old to reach the final in tournament history, will square off with American Taylor Fritz, who edged past Brandon Nakashima, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to book his fourth final of 2026.
Fritz, who saved a match point to defeat Alex Michelsen in the quarterfinals, is the first ATP player to reach three 500-level finals.
“It was really tough,” Fritz said of his victory. “He’s serving really well, playing really well. I’ve played Brandon lots of times. I thought his level was really high, and it kind of just came down to me making the most of, like, the few chances that I got and then just staying solid on my serve.”
Fritz will bid for his 11th ATP title, and first of 2026.
“It already is a great start to my US Open series and hard-court swing,” Fritz said. “A title would be even better. This will be my fourth final just this year, so I’d like to get a title. I’d like to have that confidence to kind of go all the way.”
Fritz defeated Jodar in their only previous meeting, at Delray Beach in February. The Spaniard was ranked 114 at the time.
“I played Jodar earlier in the year in Delray. I thought he played well, but I think he’s grown a lot as a player since then.”
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Chris Oddo. Chris Oddo is a freelance sportswriter, podcaster, blogger and social media marker who is a lead contributor to Tennisnow.com. He also writes for USOpen.org, Rolandgarros.com, BNPParibasOpen.com, TennisTV.com, WTAtennis.com and the official US Open program.