Shintaro Mochizuki, the Japanese "blessed" by Federer who challenges Jódar

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When Shintaro Mochizuki lifted the junior title at 2019 Wimbledon, the Japanese public licked their fingers: they had found the perfect successor to Kei Nishikori. As quick with his hands as their big emblem, with that almost innate ability from the Asian school to open and understand the court in all its dimensions, there was a special sparkle in Shintaro: he was also able to approach the net, to play with opportunism and wrist skills, to do things differently from the rest.

Modern tennis, however, punishes those profiles with low revolutions severely. If the power is not there, one must work doubly hard to gain points. Thus, Shintaro's hopes of transitioning to professionalism with the strength of his youth dwindled, lost to profiles with much more muscle mass, with shots that made the court tremble while he relied on solutions and resources, many times in vain.

Mochizuki was 'blessed' by Federer and now finds in Wimbledon the great opportunity to surprise the world against Jódar

Able to defeat Carlos Alcaraz in a World ITF Finals (during his junior stage, where he became number one in the world), the training Mochizuki received was top-notch. He grew up at the IMG Academy, the one of Nick Bollettieri (the same place as Nishikori, another great parallel), convinced to be the new and shining hope of Japanese tennis. Names like Max Mirnyi compared him from a very young age to Fabrice Santoro, for his sensitivity with the ball and his ability to exploit all four corners of the court...

Even Roger Federer showered him with praise: he chose him as a sparring partner at the 2019 ATP Finals and gave him advice that Shintaro will never forget. "Federer is my hero and at those ATP Finals, I could train with him. It was a dream, you feel that when he hits, he does it incredibly relaxed. Many people play with power and emotions, but he simply hits the ball with ease. He taught me that if I have the opportunity to play big events, to go for it", said Shintaro who has always shown readiness to seek the early rounds of Masters 1000 and Grand Slam events.

He was a prophet at home in 2023 when he defeated Taylor Fritz to advance to the quarterfinals in Tokyo. However, his inconsistency on surfaces like clay and his inability to string together winning results consistently have relegated him to the Challenger circuit, achieving his best results in the Grand Slam qualifiers. He already won a match last year in the Wimbledon main draw... and this year he has excelled, not dropping a set against Basing and Quinn to advance to the third round without losing a set (in addition to his three wins in the qualifying rounds).

Now he will face Rafa Jódar with no pressure, knowing that grass is his talisman surface, allowing him to apply that "all-court" tennis that characterizes him. One of his great attributes is his constant willingness to approach the net: he made 46 net approaches in the second round and another 34 in the first, a fact that takes us back to another era and illustrates one of the pillars of his tennis. His game plan against the man from Madrid will be clear: use the angles to move him out of the center of the court, with the objective of then closing the spaces in those approaches to the mid-court.

Drop shots, short angles, shots that will fall near the doubles alley, invitations to the net... Shintaro will seek to unleash all his arsenal, somewhat unorthodox, to solve Jódar's equation and sign what would undoubtedly be the best performance of his career. With the potential prize of facing Jannik Sinner in the round of 16 (it would be his first second week at a Slam), pressure does not exist for a guy aiming for the top 100 (his best position is #92 in the world, a ceiling that at 23 he still has the opportunity to break) and make history at Wimbledon. Will he achieve it? Perhaps another call to Federer for motivation would not be a bad idea.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Shintaro Mochizuki, el japonés "bendecido" por Federer que desafía a Jódar