Jódar defeats local wild card Gill in straight sets to reach Wimbledon second round

Rafael Jódar’s first professional match on grass ended with a straight-sets win over British wild card Felix Gill at Wimbledon on Monday. The 19-year-old from Leganés, currently ranked 26th in the world, needed 1 hour 56 minutes to secure a 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory on Court 3. He had never played an ATP-level match on the surface and missed the Queen’s Club and Eastbourne warm-up events with an abdominal strain.

“I had good sensations. My game is good on this surface. I hadn’t played on grass before, so I came a few days early to prepare well. It’s always special to play on grass. I am very grateful to be able to play at Wimbledon.”

Jódar controlled the match with his serve, winning 84% of first-serve points and firing seven aces. He finished with 31 winners to 20 unforced errors and claimed 69% of points when advancing to the net. Gill, ranked 220, kept the contest tighter with his own serve (he out-aced Jódar) but could not sustain pressure from the baseline.

Pre‑tournament doubts erased

A week ago, Jódar’s participation was uncertain. After Roland Garros, where he reached the quarter-finals, the Spaniard traveled to London for the grass swing but felt discomfort during practice at Queen’s. An MRI scan showed no major injury, but he returned to Madrid for physiotherapy and skipped both Queen’s and Eastbourne. He arrived back in London on 22 June and had a limited preparation block.

“I’m 100% ready to play. The preparation this week has been the right one. I’ve put everything I could into it and I’m satisfied with the level shown in training.”

His only competitive grass experience was as a junior, where he reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2024 and won the Roehampton junior title. Against Gill, he moved with the composure of a veteran, breaking early in each of the first two sets and navigating a brief wobble in the third.

An all‑Spanish second round

Jódar’s next opponent is compatriot Pablo Carreño Busta, who advanced when Canada’s Denis Shapovalov retired after losing the second-set tie-break (6-3, 7-6(7)). The pair met earlier this year at Roland Garros, where Jódar won in the fourth round. That rematch will test Jódar’s adaptation to grass against a far more experienced tour player.

Spanish women also progress

In the women’s draw, Sara Sorribes Tormo eased past Victoria Jiménez of Andorra and will face fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the second round. Sorribes lost only three games in a match that lasted just over an hour.