Spanish gamers are proud to be thought-about one in all a combating breed, reduce from the identical material as the nice Rafael Nadal and his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.
We heard these sentiments from 20-year-old Martin Landaluce final week in Miami, the place the younger upstart reached his first Masters quarterfinal.
“I feel I’ve a part of his mentality, a part of the Spanish spirit, the combating spirit, and I attempt to hold that,” Landaluce stated final week in Miami.
This week in Morocco, Rafael Jodar is utilizing the Spanish warrior ethos for inspiration.
Just some days after making his Prime 100 debut at No. 89 on the planet, Jodar took out Tomas Machac of Czechia to succeed in his maiden ATP quarterfinal in simply his seventh tour-level occasion.
Moreover, Jodar, who struck 17 forehand winners and received all seven factors at internet on Thursday, is enjoying his first ATP occasion on clay.
“Each Spanish participant is a warrior. From Nadal to Alcaraz, everyone seems to be a fighter. It’s in our DNA, so I saved doing that [today because] of them,” the 2024 US Open Boys’ champion stated on court docket after his win.
Jodar was exterior of the Prime 900 a 12 months in the past, however has since been on a tear on the skilled degree, claiming a trio of Challenger titles. He’s 20-7 in 2026 throughout all ranges, together with a visit to the second spherical on the Australian Open from qualifying. It was Jodar’s Grand Slam debut.
Madrid-born Jodar is 7-6 for the season up to now, and can face defending champion Alexandre Muller within the quarterfinals in Marrakech.
