Nakashima and a brutal recognition of Jódar: "He is already one of the best tennis players in the world"

Carlos Navarro - 12 Aug 2026 | 14:03
Brandon Nakashima Rafael Jódar ATP Montreal 2026 ATP

Both products from the University of Virginia, the semifinal showdown leaves a Brandon completely surrendered to the evolution of Spanish. "We are good friends."

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Nakashima and his next big challenge: Rafa Jódar. Source: Getty

Only one hurdle separates Rafael Jódar from his first Masters 1000 semifinal. That bump has a name and surname: Brandon Nakashima, one of the most improved players of the 2026 season. Without any loud statements and always being one of those players who fly under the radar, the American has already reached the semifinals of tournaments like Acapulco, Queen's, and Washington: he just needed to prove his progress in a higher-status event... and that has arrived at the ATP Montreal 2026.

Many could argue that Brandon hasn't faced, for example, opponents as formidable as those of the Spaniard, but no one has given anything to the player from San Diego, who withstood the onslaught of Rinderknech in the round of 16 (a tough victory of 7-5 in the third) and had no difficulties in overwhelming Darderi in the quarterfinals. Now well-established among the top thirty in the world, with the renewed maturity of someone who is already 25 years old, Nakashima now wants to demonstrate that he can carve out a space in the second tier of the circuit and become one of those names always well-positioned to go far in the major tournaments... and matches like tonight's can be a good measure to gauge just how far his tennis can go.

Nakashima sigue sorprendiendo a todos en Canadá.

"I get along very well with Rafa, he's a very good friend of mine. Watching his evolution and rise to the top has been incredible: he has already become one of the best players in the world right now. It's going to be a tough match, that's for sure." This is how the American described the progression of someone with whom he shares part of his story: both shone and were the visible face of the University of Virginia, becoming the best freshmen of their respective generations (Nakashima achieved it in 2019; Jódar, in 2025).

What has changed for Nakashima to make such a rise in the ranking?

If Jódar is one of the standout names of this American hard court swing, Nakashima is not far behind. In fact, he put up more of a fight against Taylor Fritz in Washington than Rafa himself, forcing him to sweat hard and winning in a 6-3 in the third set. Two consecutive semifinals that, according to Brandon himself, can be explained by two elements of his game that have significantly raised his ceiling.

"I think both my serve and my forehand have been at a very high level these last two weeks. I've come into this tournament with a lot of confidence after what happened in Washington. I knew I had to chain good performances early on to give myself the opportunity to go far. That aggressiveness with my serve and forehand is something my team and I have worked hard on lately. My overall confidence level is very high right now. Mentally, I go into every match knowing I can do well and play aggressively. I'm very happy about all of this", defined a confident Brandon who is reaping the rewards of his new partnership with Wayne Ferreira, with whom he has been a successful duo since last June.

Perhaps one of the toughest aspects for Nakashima to handle at this stage is the accumulated fatigue after the demanding week spent in the U.S. capital: however, Brandon does not seem extremely worried about it. "Overall I feel good physically, my body feels well after these two weeks. It’s clear that I've played a lot of matches and a lot of tennis, there are always some aches and pains here and there, maybe some days I feel more tired than usual, but overall I feel quite good. I just need to keep my focus for a couple more matches."

There are no better words to close a press conference than those that refer to your levels of confidence... especially if, in Brandon's case, they are sky-high. "At the beginning of the tournament I was very clear that I could go very far here. I wasn't thinking about whether it was the quarterfinals, semifinals, or finals... but I knew I was playing at a very high level of tennis for this event. I'm happy that all the hard work is paying off." Against Jódar, a new opportunity to prove that he can be part of the top tier of the circuit.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Nakashima y un brutal reconocimiento a Jódar: "Ya es uno de los mejores tenistas del mundo"