Arthur Fils has advanced to his second ATP Tour final of 2026 after defeating Rafael Jodar in a thrilling three-set match. The French tennis player overcame a set deficit to secure a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory and earned a spot in the Barcelona Open final on Saturday.
Jodar, the Spanish teenager, made a remarkable run to the semi-finals at an ATP 500 event for the first time in his career. His performance this week has already drawn attention as he continues to prove why there is so much excitement around his game. Jodar, who has already cracked the top 30 rankings, could potentially climb even higher following this impressive showing.
After the match, Fils praised Jodar’s skills and compared him to two of the sport’s most prominent players.
Arthur Fils sees Jodar’s style closer to Sinner than Alcaraz
Fils was asked about comparisons between Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Jodar during a post-match interview. Both players have made early impacts on the ATP Tour as teenagers. Jodar secured his first ATP title at the age of 19, while Alcaraz achieved the same feat a year earlier at 18.
“Carlos is already a huge, huge, huge champion,” Fils said. “He’s already been there for three, four, five years now and has a lot of experience. If we talk about the game, Carlos can mix and change a lot of things during the game.”
Fils added that Jodar is still young and playing very good tennis. However, he emphasized that he sees more similarities between Jodar and Jannik Sinner rather than Alcaraz.
“If I have to compare,” Fils continued. “I would compare Rafa more like Jannik Sinner: he is very strong from the baseline, on both sides. He can go down the line.”
Sinner currently leads their head-to-head record with a score of 8-4. One of those matches occurred when Sinner was just 17 years old, in a qualifying round for an ATP Challenger event in Portugal back in 2019.
Fils vs Rublev: A growing rivalry
Fils and Andrey Rublev first faced off at the 2024 Hong Kong Open, where Rublev won their quarter-final clash 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. Rublev took the win in three sets during that encounter. A few months later, Fils avenged the loss at the Monte Carlo Masters, defeating Rublev in straight sets during the round of 16.
The two were set to meet again at Roland Garros later that year, but Fils withdrew before they could face each other on the court.
“Rublo [Rublev] is a great champion,” Fils said ahead of their upcoming match on Sunday. “We had some big battles in the past, so it’s not going to be easy.”
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