Rafael Jodar kept his breakout year rolling on Friday, battling past fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the Mubadala DC Open semi-finals and lock in his first appearance inside the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday.
The 19-year-old Spaniard has surged from No. 540 last August and started this season at No. 168. With the win over the former World No. 5, he moved up to No. 19 in the live standings, four places better than his previous best.
Jodar’s Impressive Performance
After a shaky opening set, Jodar tightened his game behind a reliable first serve. He landed 65 percent of his first deliveries and won 77 percent of those points, while Musetti connected on 44 percent of his first serves. Jodar did not face a break point in the final two sets and closed the match in one hour, 59 minutes.
This marks Jodar’s third ATP Tour semi-final of the season and improves his 2026 record to 29-11. His year already includes a title in Marrakech, a semi-final in Barcelona, and quarter-final runs at Roland Garros, Madrid, and Rome.
Musetti was playing his first tournament since Rome in May after a thigh injury sidelined him for two and a half months. On his return in Washington, he posted wins over Matteo Arnaldi and Aleksandar Vukic before falling to Jodar.
Jodar will face Alejandro Tabilo in the last four. The Chilean advanced with a late-night comeback over second seed Ben Shelton, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Tabilo escaped a 0/40 hole at 4-4 in the second set, then won four of the final five games to finish in two hours, 23 minutes, about 20 minutes before midnight. The victory sends Tabilo into his 11th ATP Tour semi-final and ends Shelton’s bid for a third straight semi-final at this ATP 500 event. Earlier this year, Tabilo defeated Jodar in their first meeting at Indian Wells.