Jodar - The Real Deal !!

StringStrungStrang

StringStrungStrang

Professional
This guy IS the real deal!
On clay at least he is probable the 3rd best player in the world already and he is just getting started.
Can he play on hardcourts and grass?

He plays with style, power, touch and gets to everything! He may have lost today (to the No.1 player in the the world) but he showed he belonged and even today left a lot on the table.

Rafa Jodar you can now take a seat at the table with Sinner and Alcaraz!!!
 
Yes, he's already been officially named as part of the New Big 3, relegating Fonseca's back to the realm of "the next Federer" like Dimitrov.

If Rune isn't healthy this year, Jodar (sounds like a Star Wars character) will win 25-30 Roland Garros's and a couple of the other ones.

He likes paella.
 
Not fair to compare him to Rune - he's miles ahead of him. He officially turned pro De. 31, 2025... already in the top 50.
What if clay isn't his best surface!
 
This resembles the story line of the WTA.. but in the ATP which is more mpressive and more rare accomplishment due to the depth of talent and strength of the tour.
A fast tracked achievement fom the depths of the rankings and earnings to dominance in a VERY short duration..
The story line is interesting and I hope he does really really well...seems like a worthy individual..
Spain seems to be the station where these trains emerge from... Must be in the water...
 
He's good for his age, but he's currently top 20/bottom of top 10 level IMO. His current serve game in particular seems low % to me.

If he develops a serve befitting his height and improves his athleticism (he was visibly running out of gas today) he could become a top threat, but those are big ifs.
 
aldeayeah said:
He's good for his age, but he's currently top 20/bottom of top 10 level IMO. His current serve game in particular seems low % to me.

If he develops a serve befitting his height and improves his athleticism (he was visibly running out of gas today) he could become a top threat, but those are big ifs.
Click to expand...
He is not without faults (no pun intended). He's not yet scheduled to win 20 Slams, but he was not out of his league in the match with Sinner.
He is by no means at the Sinner Alcaraz level yet, but has been on the tour for a minute and he flashes talent at an elite level.
He already has a very solid game, but his mentality and awareness put him ahead of many players in the top 20 already.

If he keeps on improving he will be a handful for everyone. He is somebody to watch for now.
Last time I said that it was about Sinner and Alcaraz.
 
StringStrungStrang said:
Not fair to compare him to Rune - he's miles ahead of him. He officially turned pro De. 31, 2025... already in the top 50.
What if clay isn't his best surface!
Click to expand...

It’s not, its hardcourt. He also played college tennis in the US. He is not a natural mover on clay.

www.atptour.com

Rafael Jodar | Bio | ATP Tour | Tennis

Official tennis bio information on Rafael Jodar including personal and professional info.
www.atptour.com www.atptour.com

Strengths: Forehand, court sense and doesn’t lose focus.

Weakness: serve, first serve return, movement on clay.

He is not a magician like Carlos was at 19 but way more matured.
 
Not sure. Not too impressed to be honest. Everybody plays the exact same way these days. There's such a shortage of variety. It always boils down to who can hit harder. Fonseca, Jodar, Fils. They are all the same. I hope we can see more variety on tour.
 
Cramerica said:
He's Espanol - clay, by default, is his best surface.
Click to expand...
Funny thing is, clay is the dominant surface in all of Europe. Here in Valencia, there are plenty of hard and omni courts (artificial grass). And yet, the Spanish are excellent on clay and Germans, who also play predominantly on clay, are traditionally better fast court players. I wonder if anyone has a theory to explain this
 
Krish0608 said:
Not sure. Not too impressed to be honest. Everybody plays the exact same way these days. There's such a shortage of variety. It always boils down to who can hit harder. Fonseca, Jodar, Fils. They are all the same. I hope we can see more variety on tour.
Click to expand...
Jodar is sneaky good. Sorta like how Andy Murray was. You can't tell anything special about his shots but Jodar rarely overhits, knows exactly when to go for a shot and is generally a very mature player, neither too aggressive nor too passive.
 
He's been on the tour for literally months and he has an ATP 250 tournament win and reaching QF in Masters 1000 events. His rise is as rapid as we have seen for some time. Maybe the most promising young male player since Alcaraz and at worst neck and neck with Fonseca.
 
Incognito said:
It’s not, its hardcourt. He also played college tennis in the US. He is not a natural mover on clay.

www.atptour.com

Rafael Jodar | Bio | ATP Tour | Tennis

Official tennis bio information on Rafael Jodar including personal and professional info.
www.atptour.com www.atptour.com

Strengths: Forehand, court sense and doesn’t lose focus.

Weakness: serve, first serve return, movement on clay.

He is not a magician like Carlos was at 19 but way more matured.
Click to expand...
In my opinion:
Strengths: return, backhand, mental game.
Weaknesses: serve, touch, forehand.

Have we been watching the same matches? It should be clear to anyone that his return game is top notch.
 
heavyD said:
He's been on the tour for literally months and he has an ATP 250 tournament win and reaching QF in Masters 1000 events. His rise is as rapid as we have seen for some time. Maybe the most promising young male player since Alcaraz and at worst neck and neck with Fonseca.
Click to expand...
Check his AO, Delray, IW, and Miami results, ooops.
Oh, they forget so soon about Fils, Vacherot, Lehecka..
 
Extreme knee jerk. He's definitely not the 3rd best clay player and that's foolish to think so. He is however a good prospect for future top 10, but whether he will challenge Sincaraz is uncertain.
 
ErnestoVillanuevaCagliate said:
Dont overhype him. He looks like a slower versión of Tomas Berdych with no serve.

He has to improve serve and athleticism if he wants to enter the top 20 one day.

Fonseca has more potential.
Click to expand...
That's what everyone made of Sinner too before he started winning big. Jodar already has bigger results at big titles than Fonseca who had an entire year last year to make it to a masters/slam quarterfinal and failed to do so. Fils, Mensik, Tien, Landaluce, Blockx, and Jodar are all superior to Fonseca in this regard. Sure Fonseca has won a 500 title, but there wasn't even a top 10 player that he met in that tournament, and had a walkover on route to win.
 
TheRed said:
Jodar is sneaky good. Sorta like how Andy Murray was. You can't tell anything special about his shots but Jodar rarely overhits, knows exactly when to go for a shot and is generally a very mature player, neither too aggressive nor too passive.
Click to expand...
Jodar is good! For a 19 year old who has been on tour for less than a half-year he shows qualities (mental toughness, game awareness )that most of the tour doesn't. Wait til he adds a little muscle to his 6'4" 154 lb frame.
To me he's nothing like Fils. He has the foundation to play an all-court game and be threat. We saw a glimpse today and all week.
His mindset like Sinner to put in the work, learn and improve will be the difference. Seems so many of the 5-30 players either don't have the ingredients or the willingness and dedication to really challenge the top players.
It seems he does.

Recognizing potential is not premature it is merely being astute. The fact that he has realized a portion of it in such a short is astounding. The way he destroyed de Minaur and battled Sinner show he's already above where many hope to be.
The results are showing signs of it now and without any points to defend he is only a 5-600 points away from top 30.
 
aldeayeah said:
If he develops a serve befitting his height and improves his athleticism (he was visibly running out of gas today) he could become a top threat, but those are big ifs.
Click to expand...
Are they big ifs though ? With his height it's almost a given that he improves his serve. With a good serve he's already top 8. Fitness is one of the easiest things you can improve especially at 19.

I feel like Jodar has the easiest path of progression among current up and comers
 
MichaelNadal said:
Yall get excited EASY lol. You would need a straight jacket for the rise of Nadal and Djokovic.
Click to expand...
Nadal yes! Why ? Because he had more heart (and talent) on the court than anyone! Novak was not setting the world on fire when he was younger, but that makes what he did even more impressive. He willed himself to greatness!
 
FlatShot_V said:
Gotta see what’s gonna happen on grass too
Click to expand...
Grass is definitely a question mark. He definitely needs to translate his clay success to hardcourts. Yesterday's match was closer than the score indicates as he pushed Sinner on serve. Sinner had only faced 2 break points in his first three matches and Jodar had 7 break point opportunities in two sets. Clearly he didn't cash in but Sinner had to work in this match.
 
StringStrungStrang said:
This guy IS the real deal!
On clay at least he is probable the 3rd best player in the world already and he is just getting started.
Can he play on hardcourts and grass?

He plays with style, power, touch and gets to everything! He may have lost today (to the No.1 player in the the world) but he showed he belonged and even today left a lot on the table.

Rafa Jodar you can now take a seat at the table with Sinner and Alcaraz!!!
Click to expand...
Jodar is fake, Bloxx is real deal, he's better looking too
 
Jonas78 said:
I need some more time before joining the hype train. Jodar lost 1-6, 2-6 to Tabilo as late as Indian Wells.
Click to expand...

People declaring this guy as top 10 or 3rd in a year or so is ridiculous. He has only beaten Fonseca on clay and it could've been a straight set win for Fonseca had he not missed those sitting ducks in the first set tiebreaker. Jodar has no other big wins.

Hard Court results
IW - Tabilo def Jodar 6-1, 6-2, Rd 128
Miami - Etcheverry def Jodar - 7-5. 6-4 Rd 64
Delray Beach - Fritz def. Jodar 7-6, 6-4 (Fritz is semi-injured) round of 16, Jodar did beat Quinn the previous round.
Dallas Open - Shapovalov def. Jodar , 6-1, 6-2, round of 32
Australian Open - Mensik def. Jodar, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 second round

What it shows is he will be strong on clay courts, but not hard or grass.
I don't see him as the 3rd guy with Vacherot, Fils, Fonseca, Shelton, and Tien.
 
aldeayeah said:
He's good for his age, but he's currently top 20/bottom of top 10 level IMO. His current serve game in particular seems low % to me.

If he develops a serve befitting his height and improves his athleticism (he was visibly running out of gas today) he could become a top threat, but those are big ifs.
Click to expand...

Wasn't he outside of the top 100 not long ago ? It's already mindblowing if he is top 20 level this soon given his trajectory.
 
Dominic & Andrey said:
I think Jodar was outside of the top 150 a month ago and now is near slams seeding range. That's a pretty special and quick rise tbh.
Click to expand...
I had him in my radar for a while, he won a bunch of Challengers last year and beat Tien in the NG finals despite being 1 year younger than most of the field.

Still he has improved to top 30 level faster than expected.

Fellow NG participant Blockx is in the Madrid semis too.
 
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