By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook
Detonating destructive drives, Rafael Jodar continues building big success on dirt.
The 19-year-old Jodar overpowered Learner Tien 6-1, 6-4 charging into his second straight ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Rome extending his historic run.
Jodar is the youngest man to reach the Rome quarterfinals since Novak Djokovic back in 2007. Jodar will play either second-seeded Alexander Zverev or 18th-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi for a semifinal spot.
Earlier, Casper Ruud dashed home hopes crushing hobbled Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-1. Two-time Roland Garros finalist Ruud reached his fifth Rome quarterfinal in seven appearances. Ruud joins Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Zverev as the fourth active man to reach five Rome quarterfinals. Musetti, who was bothered by a left thigh issue, saw his quest for a second Rome quarterfinal denied.
Three-time Rome semifinalist Ruud knew Musetti was physically compromised and punished the Italian with corner to corner drives.
“Since I didn’t play Lorenzo in a long time, I really did some research,” Ruud said. “I was watching a lot of his matches, especially here in Rome. Actually was watching live with Cerundolo the last match. Towards the end of the match he kind of looked a little bit struggling already.
“I realized that if that’s the case, we try to make him run as much as possible. It’s cruel and it’s brutal, but that’s sport. You have to do everything you can to try to win matches. For me, every win is important. At the same time of course I wish him to be healthy and recover as fast as possible. But towards the end, of course, you could see that he was struggling.”
Weeks after he thrilled home fans reaching the Mutua Madrid Open final eight as a wild card, Jodar controlled much of this teen v. Tien clash from start to finish. Jodar won 10 of 19 points played on Tien’s second serve and broke serve four times in a 75-minute victory.
Marrakech champion Jodar raised his clay-court record to 15-2 on the season, equaling Tomás Martín Etcheverry for most ATP clay wins this season and becoming the first teenager to reach
quarterfinals of multiple ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in a single season since Djokovic back in 2007.
This meeting was a rematch of the pair’s Next Gen ATP Finals match that saw Jodar fend off four match points.
The talented Tien is a gifted shotmaker, but still finding his legs and learning how to adapt his precision game to the red dirt. Tien is a skilled counter-strike artist, but Jodar was lasering crackling groundstrokes over 80 mph giving the American left-hander little time to operate. Tien was slipping and sliding at times causing his attempts to
In contrast, Jodar repeatedly used his kick serve to set up the first strike he often whipped into the open court to put the American on the defensive from the early stages of rallies.
Firing a flat forehand down the line gave the Spaniard break points. When Tien double faulted, Jodar had the first break for a 3-1 lead.
Displacing Tien with the wide kick serve, Jodar blasted a backhand winner extending his lead to 4-1 after 22 minutes.
The disarming combination of Jodar’s velocity and vicious depth saw him serve out the 31-minute opening set at 15.
Playing higher, heavier topspin to send the Spaniard back behind the baseline, Tien earned double break point in the fourth game. A series of heavy forehands cornered Jodar then Tien stepped in and torched a forehand winner down the line earning his first break for a 3-1 second-set lead.
Of course, it’s not really a break until you confirm it. Tien could not consolidate as Jodar whipped flat drives to break right back in the fifth game. From 1-3 down, Jodar turned it up racing through five of the final six games while forcing Tien to try to play closer to the lines.
Continuing to unleash jolting drives, Jodar rallied from 15-30 down to hold for 5-3.
Festering frustration boiled over in Tien, who tossed his Wilson racquet in the air and kicked it before it crashed to the ground.
Serving for the match, Jodar pounded through a 10-shot rally before Tien missed a backhand ending a 75-minute encounter.
The explosive Jodar has become a fan favorite already at age 19. Funnily enough, fellow players may have been rooting for his Rome run. Now, Jodar rises to No. 29 in the ATP Live Rankings ensuring he will be seeded at Roland Garros rather than operating as a dangerous floater.