Why 'unreal' Rafael Jodar is 'new Rafa' and biggest challenger to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner - 'He’s the real deal'

Tennis legend Mats Wilander says the 19-year-old Spanish sensation Rafael Jodar has become the most promising prospect on the men's tour to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the very top.

Jodar emerged as a serious contender on the men's tour during the Sunshine Swing, as he reached the third round of the Miami Open as a qualifier, and rapidly ascended from there.

Winning the title in Marrakech, Jodar reached the semi-finals in Barcelona before the quarters of the Madrid Open, where he lost to Jannik Sinner, taking the all-conquering Italian to a tie-break in the second set.

Also reaching the quarter-finals in Rome, Jodar entered the French Open as the 27th seed - and opened with a dominant 6-1 6-0 6-4 victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic.

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Once again evident in the teenager's play was his ability to dominate baseline exchanges with absurd ball-striking, and with No. 7 seed Taylor Fritz eliminated from his segment of the draw, a deep run has potentially emerged for the Spaniard.

TNT Sports expert Wilander was effervescent in his praise of Jodar, and feels he has overtaken Brazil's Joao Fonseca as the next up-and-comer to truly challenge at the top of the men's game.

"He's unbelievably good," Wilander said. "The new Rafa [Nadal]. He hits the ball so clean, but the most important thing is the attitude.

Highlights: 'New Rafa' Jodar electrifies Roland-Garros with impressive opening win

Video credit: TNT Sports

"The attitude is absolutely brilliant, doesn’t matter if it’s the first round, or if he plays against Jannik Sinner in Madrid, he had a chance to win the second set there.

"To me, he’s the real deal. Joao Fonseca was the real deal, he still has a good chance, but Rafael Jodar is the new name, and the new name has a big chance to get into the top 10, even at the end of the year. He’s good on all surfaces."

It is a second Grand Slam appearance of the year for Jodar, after he reached the second round of the Australian Open as a qualifier, before he was beaten by Jakub Mensik.

Having regularly competed on the Parisian clay in the juniors' event, his senior debut could hardly have been more convincing.

And TNT Sports expert Alex Corretja is delighted by what he has seen so far.

"I’m so pumped," Corretja said. "Of course, we’ve been missing Carlos Alcaraz during the clay court season, all of a sudden, we just bring [in] Rafa Jodar.

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"This is unreal what he’s been doing. Not just winning Marrakech, then he played very well in Barcelona, back-to-back in Madrid and Rome as well.

"He’s so, so humble, knows exactly what he wants. He works with his father, they are both very chill. I saw him here the other day, and I said 'so how are you feeling?'. And he went ‘it’s just super good to be here, happy to be playing Roland-Garros for the first time, not juniors'.

"I think he’s not panicking, not putting too much pressure on himself, but at the same time, he has so much confidence. That’s good to go into the tournament.

"I’m really looking forward to seeing how far he can go. The seed from his side, Taylor Fritz, went out last night."

Watch: 'The new Rafa' - Jodar 'storms' to first set against Kovacevic

Video credit: TNT Sports

While Corretja stressed there are improvements to be made to Jodar's game, he feels it will be a gradual process.

"When you give him time, he can hit the ball very strongly from the forehand side, hit the backhand beautifully," Corretja said.

"I think he can improve his serve a lot, his footwork as well. He’s going to get bigger and bigger, because I think physically he’s OK, but still developing.

"We need to go day by day. We had a little chat with his dad the other day. He said, 'little by little, we’re adding things. Just trying to make him understand what the world of tennis means'."

Jodar will face James Duckworth in the second rond. The Australian benefited from Gabriel Diallo's retiring to advance.

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