Jódar finds in Rome new ways to win

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Rafael Jódar made a real survival exercise to stay in the ATP Masters 1000 Rome 2026, defeating Matteo Arnaldi by 6-1 4-6 6-3. Intangibles of a great emerging champion for a tennis player showing increasingly consistent signs of maturity. He now faces Learner Tien in the round of 16.

A learning process brings joys and disappointments, victories and stumbles, but lessons for the future must be drawn from all of it. Rafael Jódar is fully aware of being immersed in it and that not everything can always go smoothly. Facing Matteo Arnaldi in the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 Rome 2026 was not going to be easy, despite the overwhelming start, and everything that happened at the Foro Italico is a source of knowledge to apply in the next steps of his professional career.

Jódar started by overwhelming and knew how to endure when he seemed exhausted

What happened in the first set was a clear demonstration of what the young Madrid player can generate in opponents when he is inspired and everything goes his way. He hit the court very freely, his shots had tremendous bite, and he gained ground against the Italian, completely impotent to stop the flow of play coming at him. In just 19 minutes, a resounding 5-0 in his favor dominated the scoreboard, but the trend changed in the sixth game, where the intensity dropped slightly.

He managed to close that set, but it was soon evident that the second set was going to be very different. Arnaldi managed to play with more depth, made accurate height changes, and won over the crowd with great competitive spirit. Suddenly, where he had seen openings before, Rafa could not find his shots, started making unforced errors, and rushed too much in seeking winners. He suffered a physical and mental decline from which he seemed to recover by equalizing the score at 4 by regaining the break of disadvantage, but he hesitated again at the most critical moment and saw the Italian tie the match.

He will face Learner Tien in the round of 16, whom he already defeated in the Next Gen ATP Finals

The start of the third set was a clear example of how the physical and mental fatigue accumulated over the past weeks weighed heavily on the Spaniard. He conceded his service at the first exchange and seemed completely exhausted, but he rolled up his sleeves to keep the match alive and create break opportunities, gradually rediscovering his tennis. The Spaniard pushed with determination and found the prize in the sixth game, with good tactical decisions and some childish errors from Matteo.

Everything changed, Jódar found renewed energy and made sublime decisions with each stroke selection. The whole fortress of baseline reliability built by Matteo Arnaldi crumbled as if made of cards, under the push of the Madrid tennis player. Rafael Jódar has something special and has shown it with a hard-fought and very worked victory, allowing him to advance to the round of 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 Rome 2026, where he will face Learner Tien.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Jódar encuentra en Roma nuevas formas de ganar