Rafa Jodar Beats Michelsen in 5 Sets to Reach Round of 16

rafa jodar advanced to the Roland Garros round of 16 after beating Alex Michelsen 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4 in 4 hours and 16 minutes. The 19-year-old Spaniard turned a long Paris match into a place in the next round, where Pablo Carreño is now waiting.

Jódar’s five-set escape

Jódar had to keep solving the match after Michelsen dragged him through a fourth-set response and a decisive fifth. The Spaniard took the opening set in a tiebreak, lost the second in another tiebreak, dropped the third, then closed it out by winning the fourth and fifth sets.

The scoreline showed how little separated them for most of the afternoon. Jódar won the first set 7-6, Michelsen answered 6-7 and 4-6, and then the Spaniard finished stronger with 6-3 and 6-4. The match lasted 4 hours and 16 minutes in Paris.

Carreño waits in Paris

Carreño had already booked his place in the round of 16 by beating Thiago Agustín Tirante 7-6, 7-5, 3-6 and 6-4. The 34-year-old Spaniard arrived in Paris after a difficult stretch that included a ranking drop to No. 1,052 in April 2024 and a shoulder problem that forced him to withdraw from the Valencia Challenger one week before traveling to Paris.

His run has carried extra weight because he was back on court after those setbacks. Carreño said, "Estoy muy orgulloso, esto tengo que celebrarlo. He pasado momentos muy complicados" and added, "No vine pensando en llegar a la segunda semana, la verdad, así que esto es muy gratificante."

Spanish spot in the last eight

Jódar’s win now sets up an all-Spanish round-of-16 match against Carreño, which guarantees one Spanish player a place in the quarterfinals. For Jódar, the immediate step is simple: he has to deal with a veteran who has already survived his own long climb back to this stage of Roland Garros.