Both just 19, born a month apart with Joao Fonseca being the elder, the cream of the Next Gen Crop meet late Sunday night in Madrid.
Fonseca and Rafael Jodar have not met, with Jodar staying in the juniors longer and then briefly going the college route.
But with Jodar’s rapid rise, he’s just 11 spots behind the more precocious Fonseca in the rankings. And he’s also on a roll.
And the Spaniard has more wins this year. He also has a title in Marrakech and a semifinal in Barcelona on his resumé. In all, he’s 28-8 on the season.
Make that 29-8. And just five spots behind.
(Madrid is six hours ahead of EDT)
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Mutua Madrid Open
Location: Madrid, Spain
Category: ATP 1000 (Joint event with the WTA Tour)
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Dates: April 22 – May 3, 2026
Prize Money: €8,235,540
Draws: S96 – D32
Sunday, April 26, 2026
Final results
Singles, third round
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Retirements
Vit Kopriva (CZE) def [22] Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) 64 36 retd
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Upsets
[WC] Rafael Jodar (ESP) def. [27] Joao Fonseca (BRA) 76 (4) 46 61
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Seeds scuffling
[25] Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG) def. [Q] Dino Prizmic (CRO) 26 64 63
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Seeds moving on
[1] Jannik Sinner (ITA) def [Q] Elmer Moller (DEN) 62 63
[6] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) def. [29] Tallon Griekspoor (NED) 64 75
[11] Jiri Lehecka (CZE) def. [33] Alex Michelsen (USA) 64 62
[19] Cameron Norrie (GBR) def. Thiago Tirante (ARG) 75 76 (5)
[21] Arthur Fils (FRA) def. Emilio Nava (USA) 76 (2) 63
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