Rafael Jodar became the youngest Italian Open quarter-finalist in 21 years after beating American Learner Tien 6-1, 6-4 in Rome on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old is the first teenager to reach the Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarter-finals since Novak Djokovic in 2007.
Jodar controlled the match with aggressive baseline play and strong groundstrokes, continuing a breakout clay-court season.
“I am super happy. “I just try to play the matches and focus on what I have to do,” Jodar said in his on-court interview.
The Spaniard won the Marrakech title earlier this season, reached the Barcelona semi-finals and advanced to the last eight in Madrid before his Rome run.
Jodar now shares the ATP Tour lead for clay-court wins this season with Tomás Martín Etcheverry.
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He will face either Alexander Zverev or Luciano Darderi in the quarter-finals. Jodar will next face either Alexander Zverev or Luciano Darderi in the Rome quarter-finals.
