The 19-year-old next faces Musetti

Rafael Jodar was just eight years old when Kei Nishikori won the Mubadala DC Open in 2015. Now, the #NextGenATP Spaniard is the one making headlines at the ATP 500 event, where he is into his first ATP Tour hard-court quarter-final after defeating Nishikori on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old built upon his impressive season résumé with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against the former No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. Jodar found success serving into Nishikori’s forehand and drew errors from that wing within baseline rallies.

“Kei is one of the best players of all time,” Jodar said of the Japanese star in his post-match interview. “He’s won so many titles. It’s a pleasure to play against him, a legend like Kei. I knew I had to play my game. I think I did a great job adjusting some things that I wasn’t doing right in the beginning of the match, so I’m really happy about that.”

While Nishikori is competing in his farewell season, Jodar is enjoying a breakthrough in 2026, highlighted by his first ATP Tour title run in Marrakech in April.

One of the key moments of the match came early in the second set when Jodar won a thrilling 21-shot rally after scrambling deep beyond the baseline in a lung-busting exchange.

Into his sixth tour-level quarter-final this year, Jodar leads the PIF ATP Live Next Gen Race. The teenager is aiming to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals for the second consecutive year. In the Washington opening round, Jodar defeated 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Arthur Fils.

Up next for Jodar is fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti, who overcame Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Musetti is competing in his first tournament since the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome. The Italian suffered a thigh injury during the clay-court season that sidelined him the past two and a half months.

American Alex Michelsen closed the day’s action with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win against Adrian Mannarino, improving to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the Frenchman. The winner of last week’s Bloomfield Hills Challenger, Michelsen will next look to improve upon his 2-0 record against Taylor Fritz.