Rafael Jodar became the youngest quarter-finalist at the Italian Open in 21 years after defeating American player Learner Tien 6-1, 6-4 in Rome on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old is the first teenager to reach the quarter-finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia since Novak Djokovic achieved the feat in 2007.
Jodar enjoyed a breakthrough clay-court season in 2026, winning the title in Marrakech and reaching the semi-finals in Barcelona before advancing to the last eight in Madrid and Rome.
“I am super happy. I just try to play the matches and be focused on what I have to do,” Jodar said in his on-court interview.
The teenager controlled much of the match against Tien with aggressive baseline play and strong groundstrokes.
He now shares the Tour lead for clay-court wins this season with Tomás Martín Etcheverry.
Jodar will next face either Alexander Zverev or Luciano Darderi in the quarter-finals.
He is also set to become the highest-ranked teenager in the ATP rankings next week after climbing to world number 29 in the live standings.
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