Arthur Fils into Madrid semis after beating Jiri Lehecka
French No.1 Arthur Fils, ranked 25th globally, defeated Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka (14th) 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters 1000. This marks Fils’ fourth semifinal of the season as he will face world No.1 Jannik Sinner on Friday. Sinner defeated Spanish hopeful Rafael Jodar (42nd, 19 years old) 6-2, 7-6 (7-0).
Recently crowned champion in Barcelona, the 21-year-old Frenchman looks confident on clay where he secured his ninth consecutive victory at Caja Magica. Against Lehecka, who had beaten him in the Miami semifinals, Fils displayed aggressiveness, grabbing an early break.
Fils was strong on his first serve (74% points won) while Lehecka struggled to hold exchanges (18 unforced errors). The first set was claimed by Fils in 35 minutes with a passing shot at Lehecka’s feet. Although Lehecka improved in the second set, he failed to trouble Fils (no break points). A mishandled slice at 3-3 followed by a botched service return gifted the break to Fils. Despite some nerves (a double fault) when serving for the match, Fils concluded the encounter in 1 hour and 14 minutes with a powerful two-handed backhand.
Sinner stops Jodar
Jannik Sinner battled past Rafael Jodar 6-2, 7-6 (7-0) in the Madrid Masters 1000 quarterfinals, securing his 26th consecutive win in Masters 1000 tournaments (clinched in straight sets).
On Manolo-Santana court, Sinner faced Spanish youngster Rafael Jodar, aged 19, and ranked 896th last year, who won his first title in Marrakech (ATP 250) in early April. Jodar had two break chances in the first set, but it was Sinner who capitalized first with a powerful sliding backhand to lead 3-2. Clinical in his returns, the Italian broke Jodar’s serve again two games later to close out the opening set in 44 minutes.
Jodar pushes Sinner to a tiebreaker
In the second set, Jodar displayed more patience in building points, earning five break opportunities. However, Sinner elevated his game each time to fend them off. Pushed to a tiebreak, the world No.1 was physically fresher towards the end, delivering a lesson to young Jodar by winning the tiebreak without dropping a point.
