Jodar on verge of smashing record for fastest rise to top 10
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- Rafael Jodar defeated Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to reach the Canadian Open semi-final in Montreal, climbing to 11th in the live ATP rankings and needing one win over Brandon Nakashima to crack the top 10
- At 140 days from reaching the top 100, Jodar would shatter Boris Becker's 1985 record of 210 days — set when the German was 18 — by 70 days if he wins in Canada
- The men's greats all took far longer: Carlos Alcaraz needed 336 days, Novak Djokovic 623, Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner 735 each, and Roger Federer 973
- Jodar is the first teenager to reach the Montreal quarter-finals since Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2018 and the first player born in 2006 or later to make a Masters 1000 semi-final
- The Spaniard only turned full-time professional at the start of 2026 — he won his first Grand Slam match at the Australian Open in January, hit the top 50 by April 20 after beating Alex de Minaur in Madrid, and lifted his lone tour title at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech
- Bookmakers now list Jodar among the top eight favourites for the US Open, a window opened by injuries to world No. 1 Sinner and Alcaraz
- Jodar cites Nadal as his childhood idol but his heavy topspin, high-speed baseline aggression and attacking style are described as closer to Sinner's relentless hitting than Alcaraz's all-court variety
Why it matters: A teenager in his first full professional season is on the verge of erasing a record that has stood for 40 years, and bookmakers have already installed him as a top-eight US Open contender — a window that opened because Sinner and Alcaraz, the two players ahead of him in the hierarchy, are both sidelined by injury.
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