Rafael Jodar of Spain continued his remarkable ascent through professional tennis rankings at the Canadian Open. The 19-year-old defeated Arthur Filis in a rain-interrupted quarter-final match, winning 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 on Tuesday. With this victory, Jodar secured a rise to at least 11th in the ATP rankings after beginning the year in 165th position.
Jodar’s progression has drawn significant attention due to its pace relative to historical benchmarks in men’s tennis. He is positioned to challenge Boris Becker’s record of 210 days required to ascend from breaking into the top 100 to reaching the top 10. If successful in the tournament, Jodar could accomplish this transition in approximately 140 days. He will compete against American Brandon Nakashima in Wednesday’s semi-final, with the potential for a championship run depending on outcomes in the other half of the draw.
In the men’s draw, defending champion Ben Shelton advanced through the quarter-finals, dispatching Jakub Mensík 6-3 6-1 in 72 minutes without losing a set through the tournament. Shelton will face Learner Tien in the other semi-final.
On the women’s side, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan rallied from a first-set deficit to defeat 11th-seeded Naomi Osaka 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. Osaka captured the opening set with an early break, but Rybakina recovered through the subsequent sets to advance. Rybakina will meet Coco Gauff in the women’s semi-finals, with Gauff receiving a walkover after her opponent Belinda Bencic withdrew due to hip injury. The other women’s semi-final features Iga Swiatek against Elina Svitolina.
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