Rafael Jodar sparks Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain debate after French Open breakthrough
Rafael Jodar may have risked upsetting some Arsenal fans following his comments after his French Open last-16 win on Sunday.
In his first-ever Roland Garros, the 19-year-old marched into the quarter-finals with a comeback five-set victory over Pablo Carreno Busta.
The Spaniard stormed into a 4-1 lead in the first set, only for the veteran to reel off five games in a row to take the opener 6-4 on Suzanne Lenglen.
The 34-year-old maintained his momentum in the second as he took the set with the same scoreline but Jodar had finally awoken from his slumber.
The teenager lost just five games in the final three sets to seal a 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 triumph, as Jodar won in five sets for the second match in a row.
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A year ago, Jodar was outside the top 700 in the world and was losing in the early rounds of Challenger events. Now, he is in the last eight of the French Open.
On how his life has rapidly changed this year, Jodar said, “It’s different. I am the same person; I am always very, very humble.
“I appreciate the people who came to support me today. It was a great crowd, a great atmosphere. Thank you very much, it was amazing to play here.”
Jodar, who took a lengthy break before the start of the third set before roaring back into the contest, was also quick to turn his attention to football matters.
On Saturday night, Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal on penalties to defend their Champions League crown, this time in Budapest.
Mikel Arteta’s team raced into a sixth-minute lead thanks to Kai Havertz before Ousmane Dembele’s second-half penalty sent the contest into extra-time.
Gabriel Magalhaes skied the decisive penalty in the shootout, sparking wild celebrations from the French side. PSG had 75% possession, 21 shots to Arsenal’s seven, and an Expected Goals tally of 1.77 versus 0.44.
Jodar added, “I also want to say congrats to the PSG fans for the win last night, very well deserved.”
And going by the statistics, it is hard to disagree with the young Spaniard. Like PSG, he will hope he can end up with some silverware over the next week.
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