“Another step in the process”: Jodar celebrates his top-10 debut with a win over Tabilo
The ninth seed beat Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-3 on the day he entered the top 10 for the first time, at 20. Rafael Jodar, ninth in the Race to Turin, will face Casper Ruud next.
Rafael Jodar, Rolex 2026 | © Action Plus / PsNewz
Spaniard Rafael Jodar, the ninth seed, broke Alejandro Tabilo five times to beat the Chilean 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour 18 minutes in the first round of the Paris Masters 1000 on Monday. He will face Norwegian Casper Ruud, who beat Argentinian qualifier Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 6-2 to close the day session on Court Central, in the second round.
The win came on the day Jodar, 20, entered the top 10 for the first time, at No. 10. He got there 487 days after his tour-level debut, the fastest rise into the top 10 in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings.
“It’s another step in the process,” Jodar said. “If you want to be a great player, you have to take many steps in your career, and that’s one of them. So I take it as a step in the long journey that I have in my career.”
It was Jodar’s fourth straight win over Tabilo, and he now leads their head-to-head 4-1. He beat him 6-4, 6-2 in Basel last week and 6-2, 6-1 in Cincinnati in August. He also won their Washington semi-final 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4, after losing to him 6-1, 6-2 in Indian Wells in March.
Jodar converts five of 12 break points against Tabilo
Tabilo broke first for 2-1, but Jodar broke straight back and again for 4-2. He took the set on his fifth set point, breaking a third time.
In the second set, Jodar saved two break points at 1-1 and broke for 3-1. Tabilo broke back, but Jodar broke on his fourth break point for 5-3 and served out the match on his first match point.
The Spaniard hit 10 aces, did not serve a double fault and won 71% of the points behind his first serve. He converted five of his 12 break points.
“The ball goes much faster and everything speeds up, so you have to be very ready for the matches to be quicker and for the serve and the return to matter,” he said in Spanish of the indoor conditions. “I always have the same mindset: to try to impose my game and to know which points are the important ones.”
Jodar ninth in the Race to Turin after his first-round win
Jodar started the week ninth in the Race to Turin, just ahead of Alex de Minaur, with the last places for the ATP Finals to be decided in Paris.
“I know it would be a reward for me for the results and the matches I’ve played this year,” he said in Spanish. “But if it doesn’t happen, I’ll be happy with the season I’ve had.”
Tabilo, ranked No. 30, has not won a title this season. His only final of 2026 came in Rio de Janeiro in February, where Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat him 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 first-round results
Lorenzo Musetti d. Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10)
Luca Van Assche d. Mariano Navone 6-3, 7-5
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Learner Tien (15) (Tuesday)
Novak Djokovic (10) vs Valentin Vacherot (Tuesday)
Rinky Hijikata (Q) d. Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2
Andrey Rublev vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Tuesday)
Cameron Norrie vs Matteo Arnaldi (Monday)
Mattia Bellucci (Q) vs Lorenzo Sonego (Q) (Monday)
Arthur Rinderknech vs Francisco Cerundolo (16) (Tuesday)
Tommy Paul (12) vs Holger Rune (PR) (Tuesday)
Daniel Merida d. Sebastian Baez (LL) 6-4, 6-2
Quentin Halys vs Arthur Fery (Tuesday)
Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) vs Arthur Gea (WC) (Tuesday)
Casper Ruud d. Juan Manuel Cerundolo (Q) 6-3, 6-2
Rafael Jodar (9) d. Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-3
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (13) vs Moise Kouame (WC) (Tuesday)
Denis Shapovalov vs Karen Khachanov (Monday)
Ignacio Buse d. Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-4
Kyrian Jacquet (WC) vs Tomas Machac (Q) (Monday)
Alex Molcan (Q) vs Titouan Droguet (WC) (Monday)
Benjamin Bonzi (Q) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Tuesday)
Brandon Nakashima (14) vs Matteo Berrettini (Tuesday)
Ugo Humbert vs Botic van de Zandschulp (Monday)
Alex Michelsen vs Jiri Lehecka (Tuesday)
Sources: ATP media notes; match statistics from Flashscore; ATP rankings.
