Valentin Vacherot beats Rafa Jódar in three sets at Swiss Indoors Basel

The result

Valentin Vacherot beat Rafa Jódar 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(5) at the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Thursday, 29 October 2026, ending the Spaniard's run at the ATP 500 event. Vacherot, the Monegasque ranked 31 according to SRF, now plays Denmark's Holger Rune in the quarterfinals. Jódar, the world No. 11 in SRF's reporting and 20 years old according to El País, was attempting a comeback that would have been his twelfth of the season since the Mutua Madrid Open, La Razón reported. Europa Press put the match at 2 hours and 31 minutes, and El País described a tight contest settled in a final tie-break.

How the sets were decided

The first set went to a tie-break, which Vacherot won 7-4 after taking an early mini-break on the opening point. Jódar responded in the second set, breaking twice in the first three service games and winning it 6-2 to level the match. In the decider Jódar broke early again, but Vacherot pulled level and the set went to another tie-break, which the Monegasque won 7-5 after both players held serve to 4-4. El Mundo reported that Jódar led 5-4 in that tie-break with two serves to close out the match, then made two unexpected errors, a forehand struck off the frame and a backhand sent long.

The numbers

SRF's match statistics show Jódar with 41 winners to Vacherot's 26 and three breaks of serve to one, but also 38 unforced errors to Vacherot's 47. El Mundo reported that Vacherot saved eight break points during the match. ABC said Vacherot repeatedly aimed his serve at Jódar's body and that his serve speed hovered around 220 km/h. Europa Press credited Vacherot with a 68% first-serve percentage and 13 aces, and said Jódar served well but wasted three break points in the first set.

Jódar winners41

Vacherot winners26

Jódar unforced errors38

Vacherot unforced errors47

Jódar breaks3

Vacherot breaks1

Jódar winners

41 count

Vacherot winners

26 count

Jódar unforced errors

38 count

Vacherot unforced errors

47 count

Jódar breaks

3 count

Vacherot breaks

1 count

Data from the article text

The ATP Finals race

The defeat leaves Jódar without any points until the Paris Masters 1000, which has moved from Bercy, according to El Mundo. Europa Press said Alex de Miñaur could overtake him in the race for a place in the ATP Finals. El Mundo listed Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Frances Tiafoe, Alex de Miñaur, Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz among rivals still competing for places. La Razón said the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin run from 15 to 22 November, and El País said Jódar's chances depend on De Miñaur's results in Vienna, Djokovic's in Basel and his own performance in Paris.

Tribute and next steps

Jódar wore a black ribbon on his shirt sleeve in memory of the victims of the railway accident in Urda, La Razón reported, while ABC described a black armband on his shoulder. Vacherot's next match is the quarterfinal against Holger Rune. Jódar's next target is the Paris Masters 1000, where he hopes to break into the top 10 and reach the ATP Finals, La Razón said.