Spaniard, 19, was playing in his first major quarter-final

Rafael Jodar’s breakthrough run at Roland Garros came to an end on Tuesday, but not before the Spaniard announced himself on one of tennis’s biggest stages.

The 19-year-old’s Paris campaign was halted by Alexander Zverev, yet the experience of reaching the quarter-finals has left Jodar with plenty to build on and even more belief in what comes next.

“All these matches helped me to realise that if you want to compete against the best players in the world, you have to keep your level all the time the same,” Jodar said in his post-match press conference. “You cannot have a lot of downs during the matches, especially when you are playing a five-set match.

“What I learned about me is that I can compete against anyone, but I still have to improve a lot of things and these matches will help me to improve those things. That's what I learned.”

Jodar was playing in his first major quarter-final in Paris, where he had previously earned dramatic five-set wins against Alex Michelsen and Pablo Carreno Busta in the third round and fourth round, respectively.

The 19-year-old was just the sixth man since 2000 to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals on debut, joining Juan Carlos Ferrero (2000), Martin Verkerk (2003), Rafael Nadal (2005), Jannik Sinner (2020) and Holger Rune (2022).

However, second seed Zverev brought Jodar’s run to an end. The German secured a 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3 victory in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, leaving Jodar impressed by the level he faced.

“He's a great player,” Jodar said of 2024 finalist Zverev, who is seeking his maiden major. “He does everything very well. He has a lot of experience. He has been in these kind of stadiums a lot of years, and I think that's a key that's very important to face the important and the pressure moments in the match. Overall, he does everything very good. If one day I want to be at that level, I'm not worried that I have to work hard.”

Jodar leaves Paris having earned a Tour-leading 19 wins on clay this year. The Spaniard lifted the trophy in Marrakech, reached the semi-finals in Barcelona, the last eight at ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome and is now up to No. 23 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after advancing to the quarter-finals in the French capital.

“It was a great week,” Jodar said. “I played a lot of matches in my first time in Paris. I am happy with the week and how the clay season went for me. Now it is time to get my body ready for the grass season and analyse the things that I can improve for the next matches.”