19-year-old is third Spanish teenager to reach Barcelona QFs this century

Rafael Jodar extended his winning streak to seven matches on Wednesday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where the #NextGenATP Spaniard thrilled his home crowd with another confident display.

Showcasing his trademark forehand firepower, Jodar recovered from a slow start to defeat Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-3 and advance to the quarter-finals of the clay-court ATP 500 event. With his one-hour, 30-minute victory, the 19-year-old improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against the Argentine, whom he also beat en route to his maiden ATP Tour title in Marrakech two weeks ago.

“Playing at home, it feels different,” Jodar said when comparing his two meetings with Ugo Carabelli. “I’m super happy how the crowd supported me from the first point. I really appreciated that and I’m super grateful. I’m trying to manage the nerves in the best way possible. It’s sometimes difficult, but you have to try and handle the pressure and important moments in the best way possible.”

After dropping serve in the opening game, Jodar quickly settled into rhythm and began dictating play with depth and athleticism that Ugo Carabelli struggled to contain. The wild card is now just the third Spanish teenager this century to reach the Barcelona quarter-finals, joining Rafael Nadal (2005, 2006) and Carlos Alcaraz (2022, 2023).

With his run so far in Catalonia, Jodar is up to No. 47 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, while he continues his push to become the second player born in 2006 or later — after Joao Fonseca — to crack the Top 50. The Spaniard will next face seventh seed Cameron Norrie or qualifier Ethan Quinn for a place in the semi-finals.

Ranked outside the world’s Top 600 just 12 months ago, Jodar’s rise has been rapid. The Spaniard secured his debut appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2025, and has reached new heights this season with 12 tour-level wins, highlighted by his maiden title and a third-round showing at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hamad Medjedovic upset third seed Alex de Minaur to reach his seventh tour-level quarter-final — and first at ATP 500 level. The Serbian rallied from a break down in the second set to seal a 6-3, 6-4 victory, saving eight of the nine break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Medjedovic will next take on Nuno Borges, who overcame reigning Rio de Janeiro champion Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 7-6(4). Despite physical struggles late in the match, the Portuguese player sealed the two-hour encounter with an underarm-serve ace on his second match point in the tie-break.