Making his debut on Campo Centrale in Rome, Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar overpowered in-form Matteo Arnaldi to reach the last 16 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia for the first time on Sunday night.
Playing in his first career tournament as a seeded player, world No. 34 Rafael Jodar rallied from a set down to overpower Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours, advancing to the round of 16 at Foro Italico.
In his on-court interview, the Madrid quarterfinalist commented: “I’m very happy. It’s never easy to play an Italian here in Rome. I tried to play my tennis.
"Matteo played very well in the second and third sets, so I just tried to be there every point and accept whatever happened during the match.”
The 19-year-old Spaniard produced an impressive turnaround to earn his ticket to the fourth round for the first time at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia on Sunday night.
Jodar imposed his game from the get-go, courtesy of an outstanding performance on the return, converting 4 of 5 break point opportunities en route to seal the first set 6-1 in just 30 minutes.
The young Spanish player recorded a return rate of 311 compared to his adversary's 150, winning 75 percent of the return points on his first delivery.
Arnaldi, who has dropped in the Rankings from world No. 30 to 106 due to a chronic right foot injury, delivered a standout run on home soil.
On Friday, he shocked sixth seed Alex de Minaur in a thrilling three-set contest, progressing to the third round for the first time in Rome.
Fresh from achieving his first Top 10 win of the season, the 25-year-old came out firing in the second set, breaking to love on his way to open a 3-1 advantage.
The Sanremo native regrouped with confidence when Jodar broke back to level up 3-3, displaying high-quality tennis, perhaps his best of the season.
Jodar added pressure on his opponent, building a late challenge that the Italian fought off by converting a crucial break in the ninth game before saving a break point in the 10th game to even the match one set apiece.
With the wind in his sails, Arnaldi pushed the Marrakech champion to three sets by kicking up a level behind his serve, winning 75 percent of the points on his first serve.
Moreover, he clinically neutralized the Madrid-born powerful forehand, while surging at the net with speed and touch, earning 80 percent of his approaches.
In a final set decided by small margins, Arnaldi hit first, breaking and holding to love, taking a 2-0 lead.
Trailing by a set and a break, Jodar held his nerve to put in motion a ruthless comeback, winning five games in a row, and breaking twice in the process to notch the set 6-3 and the match like a veteran could.
He finished with 28 winners against 29 unforced errors, compared to his rival, 16 to 33.
Last Friday, the Barcelona semifinalist clinched his first victory as a seeded player by beating Portuguese player Nuno Borges 7-6(4), 6-4 on SuperTennis Arena to become the fourth teenager to reach the third round on Roman soil this decade.
Next, he will meet 19th seed Learner Tien, who secured his best result on the red clay by stunning world No. 11 Alexander Bublik 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a close two-hour, seven-minute battle.
With the win, the 20-year-old became the youngest American man to reach the last 16 since 2002 at the Masters 1000 event.
Jodar leads Tien 1-0 in their series, having faced one another last year in the round robin stage of the Next Gen ATP Finals; eventually, the world No. 21 would go on to capture the title in style.