Spanish tennis player Rafa Jódar defeated compatriot Martín Landaluce at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah, but an unexpected results combination left him out of the semifinals. Under Rafael Nadal's watchful eye, Jódar did his part, though Learner Tien's win over Nicolai Budkov Kjaer sealed his elimination. The tournament gathers the top players under 21 in Saudi Arabia.
At the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Rafa Jódar, a Madrid-born player from 2006 trained at Club de Tenis Chamartín, overcame Martín Landaluce 4-3, 4-1, 4-3 in one hour and 23 minutes during the Next Gen Finals, the tournament that since 2017 gathers the eight best tennis players under 21, now in Saudi Arabia for the second year.
Landaluce, a pupil at Rafa Nadal's academy in Manacor and nicknamed Tintín, arrived with two prior defeats and needed to win without dropping a set to keep semifinal hopes alive. However, Jódar took the first-set tiebreak, ending his rival and friend's chances, also a 2006 Madrid native. Nadal, ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation, applauded from his VIP box.
The win brought Jódar closer to Saturday's semifinals, hinging on the match between American Learner Tien and Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjaer. A Kjaer win would qualify Jódar directly, but if Tien won 3-0, Tien and Jódar advanced; 3-1 eliminated Jódar; 3-2 saw Jódar and Kjaer progress.
Kjaer took an intense first set, but Tien chained the next three, securing a 3-1 victory that qualified Tien and Kjaer, sidelining Jódar in an unlucky fluke. Calm by nature, Jódar had previously shared his chess hobby for focus: “I really enjoy the strategy behind each move”.
Tien (20 years, 28th ATP) and Kjaer (19 years, 136th) join Nishesh Basavareddy (20 years, 167th) and Alexander Blockx (20 years, 116th) from the other group. Reaching semifinals awards nearly 200,000 euros, and the Sunday final another 100,000. Past winners include Alcaraz, Sinner, and Tsitsipas.
