Rafa Jodar continued his breakthrough spring at the Mutua Madrid Open, reaching his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Vit Kopriva. The 19-year-old’s run in Madrid is projected to move him inside the Top 40 for the first time and puts him within reach of a Grand Slam seed ahead of Roland Garros next month.

With the already-announced withdrawal of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Jodar would be one spot out from guaranteeing a seed with three weeks remaining before the Roland Garros draw is set. On court after his win over Kopriva he said, “I’m super happy with my level today, with my level at this tournament. “It’s always so special to play at home in front of many people you know and came to support you. So, I’m super happy to play another match tomorrow.”

Jodar has compiled a 16-3 record since the Miami Open, where he qualified and reached the third round. The Spanish teenager captured his first ATP title in Marrakech and reached his first ATP 500 semifinal in Barcelona prior to arriving in Madrid.

Entering Madrid as a wild card, Jodar upset No. 5 seed Alex de Minaur and No. 27 seed Joao Fonseca, the latter match extending late into the night as he advanced to the fourth round. Against Kopriva, from 5-5 in the first set he closed out the last eight games to seal the victory and a meeting with the top seed.

Jodar will face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals. “It’s an opportunity,” Jodar said. “You have to recover well, prepare well for the match the best way as possible and think about tomorrow because it’s going to be another tough match.” Sinner noted the challenge posed by Jodar’s late-night finish against Fonseca, a result that led organizers to give the top seed an 11 a.m. start. On Jodar, Sinner said, “Jodar is a very, very clean hitter, very easy power. You can hear with the sound, you know, when he touches it, and it’s a good sound coming from the racquet. He’s very, very talented. He’s going to be a great, great player in the future, and he’s already showing. I like the mentality, it’s quite calm. I don’t know him personally, but he seems very humble. So, yeah, he’s a very, very good player, and I wish him only the best.”

After more than three decades on tour and more than 8,000 matches officiated, Carlos Bernardes closed his umpiring career at the ATP Finals 2024 in Turin. Now based in Bergamo, the Brazilian has traded the chair for the organizer’s desk and is working as a tournament director on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Bernardes has been visible at events around Italy, including the Monza Open, where he described the atmosphere and his reason for being there. “My wife is working here as part of the official review team, and I had the chance to come as a visitor,” Bernardes explained about his presence in Monza. “I was here last year, and it was nice, but this year the organizers are doing an unbelievable job. The stands have been packed since Sunday when qualifying started. It’s great to see people coming out to watch tennis—not only the Italian players, but the sport in general.”

Earlier in the season he took on tournament duties in Cesenatico, a role that offered a fresh perspective. “It was very nice and interesting to see the side of the organizers. You have to interact a lot with the players. The team there did a very good job,” he said. “At that time of the year, there is usually nothing going on in that region. Many hotels are closed and the city feels like a ghost town. Because of the tournament, a lot of people came, and it was very successful. The mayor and the city representatives were very happy.”

He will continue in that capacity at the ATP Challenger in Cervia in May, where outdoor conditions and longer days should draw more fans. Bernardes has also encountered operational challenges, noting players’ unfamiliarity with tournament procedures. “Some players don’t really know the rules, especially those coming from lower-level events. They don’t always read the fact sheet, like deadlines for hotel reservations. I had quite a few conversations about that,” he said.

Bernardes says what he misses most is the people, not the act of umpiring. “Not the umpiring itself,” he said with a laugh, “but the people. I met some colleagues here that I haven’t seen in more than 10 years. That’s really nice.”

For many of today’s umpires, I was a kind of teacher at some point. It’s like a second family, Carlos Bernardes

He reflected on how the game has evolved and on the impact of new technologies. “This is not only about sport, but it also affects every day life,” Bernardes explained. “With artificial intelligence and automated systems, things are different now. Umpires don’t have the same communication with players about decisions anymore. Their role is more about explaining what’s happening to the crowd or on TV. It’s completely different from when we started.”

Jannik Sinner used his postmatch moment to press for adjustments to tournament scheduling after moving into the quarterfinals at the Mutua Madrid Open. The world No. 1 advanced in straight sets Tuesday, beating No. 19 seed Cameron Norrie 6-2, 7-5 for his 25th consecutive Masters 1000 victory.

Sinner singled out the timing of a potential opponent’s previous match, referring to Rafael Jodar’s near-1 a.m. finish Monday against Joao Fonseca and the recovery implications that follow. “I feel like we need to make some adjustments to the scheduling of the day,” Sinner said. “The matches end very late even though they have one day between. It’s still very, very late to finish at 1:30. You need to eat and have treatment, so that’s very late. We try to adapt ourselves, our bodies and minds.”

Tournament officials had moved Jodar’s earlier match to 4 p.m. to provide maximum recovery time after the late-night win over Fonseca, a match that took just over two hours. That decision produced a rare 11 a.m. start for Sinner on Tuesday. “I don’t know the last time I played at 11, but for me, it doesn’t matter what time,” Sinner said during his on-court interview. “I try to do my best. There was a question whether me or Jodar plays at 4. I think it’s right that he plays at 4 because he finished very, very late.”

Sinner also praised the teenage Jodar’s play this week, noting the Spaniard’s recent form after winning his first ATP title in Marrakech and then taking a wild card into Madrid, where he upset No. 5 seed Alex de Minaur in straight sets en route to a career-best Masters 1000 result. “He’s a very, very talented player,” Sinner said. “Jodar is a very, very clean hitter, very easy power. You can hear with the sound, you know, when he touches it, and it’s a good sound coming from the racquet. He’s very, very talented. He’s going to be a great, great player in the future, and he’s already showing. I like the mentality, it’s quite calm. I don’t know him personally, but he seems very humble. So, yeah, he’s a very, very good player, and I wish him only the best.”

On court after his win over Norrie, Sinner reflected on the playing conditions and his progress. “This surface is very, very different from all the other surfaces, so it’s tough to get the right feedback,” Sinner said on court today. “Sometimes, you feel like you’re not playing your best, but from the outside it seems that you are. Sometimes, it’s the opposite. But I’m very happy to be in the quarters again, at a tournament I haven’t played a lot. It means a lot to me and I’m happy to be through in two sets.”