Rafael Jodar beats Fils in Washington, faces Nishikori
Spanish rising star Rafael Jodar beat France's Arthur Fils 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the first round of the ATP 500 Washington Open on Tuesday, avenging an April Barcelona semifinal loss and booking a last-16 meeting with Japan's Kei Nishikori in humid heat.
Key Takeaways
- Rafael Jodar (ATP No. 24) defeated seeded Arthur Fils (No. 22) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in Washington first round.
- The win reversed Fils's April Barcelona ATP 500 semifinal victory over the 19-year-old Spaniard.
- Jodar next faces 36-year-old Kei Nishikori; Cruz Hewitt, 17, also claimed a first ATP win the same day.
- Heat and humidity shaped the match, with Fils seeking treatment for left-thigh pain in set two.
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What happened in Rafael Jodar's Washington opener?
Playing his first Washington Open, Jodar took a grinding first-set tiebreak 7-5, then closed 6-3 as conditions turned punishing. According to AFP via France 24, Fils called the physiotherapist early in the second set with apparent left-thigh pain.
"The conditions are tough here," Jodar said. "It's the first time I compete in the tournament, but I knew the conditions were going to be complicated, especially playing in the day."
Fils entered as the No. 8 seed. Their only prior meeting came in Barcelona in April, when the Frenchman stopped Jodar in the semifinals before the home crowd.
Why does the win matter for Rafael Jodar's hard-court push?
Jodar is using Washington to prove his clay-season breakthrough travels to hard courts. On clay he won the Marrakech ATP 250, then reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals and the Masters 1000 quarters in Madrid and Rome.
Washington marks the start of his first North American swing. A last-16 berth against Nishikori—still competing at 36—tests whether that form holds under heat, travel, and faster surfaces.
After the match, Jodar told reporters he felt he kept the initiative in the opening set and executed key points in the tiebreak and second set, even after falling a break down early.
Who is next, and what else stood out in Washington?
Jodar meets Nishikori for a quarterfinal spot. The Spaniard also said he is excited that teammates and coaches from the University of Virginia—where he competed in the NCAA last year—are coming to watch; Charlottesville is about two hours from the capital.
"Seeing them in the stands enjoying and cheering me on is something that makes me very happy," he said in the mixed zone, per Mundo Deportivo.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Australia's Cruz Hewitt, 17 and ranked No. 612, notched a first ATP victory by beating Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-4 without facing a break point. A possible later meeting with Alex de Minaur—mentored by father Lleyton Hewitt—looms if de Minaur clears Stefanos Tsitsipas.