Rafa Jódar comes back against Carreño and toughens up on the way to the Roland Garros quarterfinals

Difficult not, the next thing, to foresee the outlook of this assembly-style Roland Garros, so disconcerting and at the same time so attractive. Indeed, tennis does not live only from the stars. Poster and voice for everyone. Jannik Sinner fell on Thursday; the next day Novak Djokovic did; on Saturday the last champion, Coco Gauff, gave up; and this Sunday, when the Parisian thermometer finally offers a respite, the competition delivers another twist with the fall of the four-time champion Iga Swiatek, defeated by Marta Kostyuk. The secondary players continue to gain prominence and in that Rafael Jódar shines like no other, a 19-year-old boy who will step into the quarterfinals of a major stage for the first time. And that is not a bad way to introduce himself, coming back from two sets down against Pablo Carreño: 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, and 6-2, in 3h 41m. He will face Alexander Zverev or Jesper de Jong.

Read more Elections in Colombia 2026: voting location, when the Dry Law starts, and hours to go to the polling stations

Jódar continues this second adventure in a major with the sweat of a laborer and that characteristic belief of the Spanish tennis player. There will be better or more virtuous ones, but in the field of conviction, few like that inexhaustible factory of players that never ends — age and generation seem irrelevant — and that does not give up even at gunpoint. Carreño knows this well, who at 34 years old keeps trying, a perfect symbol of stubbornness, and Jódar seems to follow the historical path as well, another tennis player who must be finished off several times. He beat James Duckworth in four sets; Alex Michelsen in five; and now repeats against the player from Gijón, who had a 2-0 lead and ends up bowing to the evidence: the Madrid player pushes too hard. Rai Sakamoto experienced the wear in January, in Melbourne.

Jódar’s start is good but deceptive because Carreño actually lets several chances to hurt him slip away — he will close the first set with a 9/11 in breaks — and because strangely, Jódar takes a more cautious approach than usual and ends up paying for it. Used to dominating and living in front of the baseline, the Madrid player proposes a couple of steps back and moves horizontally, not finding that spark, that vigor, or that bite that characterize him. The Asturian senses the situation and, with the mileage, wisdom, and all the experience he carries on his back, he goes after him and takes the initiative. It’s the world upside down: the trench man in search of gold and the young explorer sheltered in the cave, without the whip.

Strange tournament, and rather unexpected script, which will continue in the form of a succession of nine games that pose a gap that the Leganés player will later correct by recovering his essence; that is, a couple of meters forward and, now yes, activated fangs. That is Jódar. Just as one cannot be understood without that craft or that guerrilla soul, without that survival that opened almost improbable doors, the other’s tennis cannot be conceived from waiting. Command, his flag. And he sets to it, also taking advantage that the one from Gijón is knocked on the door: knock-knock, here the shoulder. Apparently, nothing worrying, but some discomfort. Two sets up for him, but at a bad time, of course. They attend to him and the physio massages the area, but that Carreño is not the same as before.

Read more Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia conquer the Italian GP for the first time

From there, he falls into a crack from which it is hard to escape, coinciding with the rise of that young man who hits again with hunger, determination, depth, and courage, transforming the previous weaknesses — the backhand that brings him so many benefits was not firing — into a compendium of virtues. His racket spits shots under the metronome’s dictate, tick-tock, from side to side, and although the veteran benefits from the break in the locker room and straightens up again, stopping the bleeding, the duel has taken a well-defined direction: either Carreño is able to interrupt that rhythm, or he is simply lost. He knows it, the crowd knows it, and Jódar has identified it perfectly, grimacing when the referee suggests he will stop the match to cover the court. “Why? Come on…”

The people get wet with the passing dew and to avoid spoiling Sunday, the clouds finally choose to hold back. However, the water is appreciated; the heat and sultriness are behind. Back to normal. Ici C’est Paris!, chant the PSG fans at Porte d’Auteuil, who turned Saturday night into a long sequence of stampedes. The Madrid player has also unleashed, already pounding on that peripheral point from which he has taken down quite a few; once settled there, so comfortably, it is very difficult to stop him. Few hit like that today, and few seem to have it as clear as he does. So now Carreño falls, a fighter until the end, as always, but already knowing he is in trouble from which he will not escape. The wave keeps advancing and Jódar continues, then.

Read more Presidential elections in Colombia 2026, live | Polls open for the presidential elections; more than 41 million people are eligible to vote this Sunday