VIC, May 16, 2024
Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar has reached his first quarterfinal on the Pro Circuit. The 17-year-old from Madrid defeated Raphael Collignon from Belgium 7-5, 7-6(7) in the second round of the ITF M25 Vic.
On a windy and rain-interrupted Thursday in Catalonia, Jodar successfully overcame his opponent as well as the tricky conditions at the Club Tennis Vic. The World No. 1870 capitalized on six of his 13 break-point chances to secure victory in two hours and 30 minutes.
“It was a good match. I played well but unfortunately it was interrupted in the tie-break due to rain and I am happy that I could win it in the end,” Jodar told Tennis TourTalk. “I was aggressive. That’s my game and was the key today. I served well. It’s my first time here. I knew that I face a tough opponent but I managed it very well.”
Jodar, who is a big football fan and supports Real Madrid, has claimed six titles on the Juniors Tour and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 11 in January this year.
“This is one of my first Futures tournaments and one of my first events of the season. I have been playing on the ITF Juniors Tour but not this year because of my studies. I finished school only two weeks ago. Now, I will continue to play on both Circuits, which is good, as I will face different kind of opponents,” the wild card entry explained.
Jodar will next challenge No. 6 seed Ignacio Buse of Peru, who rallied past Miguel Damas of Spain 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 50 minutes.
Moeller leads quarterfinals line-up
Also in the bottom half of the draw, No. 3 seed Marvin Moeller of Germany remained untroubled during his 6-3, 6-3 win over local wild card entry John Echeverria. The highest-seeded player left in the singles draw of the ITF World Tennis Tour M25 clay-court event broke his rival’s serve five times to prevail after one hour and 44 minutes.
Up next for Moeller will be No. 8 seed Daniel Merida of Spain, who defeated French veteran Kenny de Schepper 6-0, 6-2 in one hour and 32 minutes.
In the top half of the draw, Michiel de Krom continued his fine run of form in the province of Barcelona this week. The Dutch qualifier, who knocked out top seed Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo in the first round, eased past Bulgarian qualifier Anthony Genov 6-1, 6-2 in 63 minutes.
De Krom will next take on seventh-seeded Spaniard Carlos Lopez Montagud. The World No. 491 defeated his compatriot Imanol Lopez Morillo 7-5, 6-1 in two hours and eight minutes.
Max Alcala Gurri of Spain edged past French qualifier Maxence Beauge 7-5, 6-3 and awaits Spanish qualifier Albert Pedrico Kravtsov in the stage of the final eight.
