Arthur Fils: Why Rafael Jodar is more Jannik Sinner than Carlos Alcaraz

Arthur Fils is into his second ATP Tour final of 2026 after seeing off Rafael Jodar in three sets.

The Frenchman fought back from a set down to beat the Spanish teenager 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 and book his place in the Barcelona Open final on Saturday.

Jodar had made it as far as the semi-finals for the first time at an ATP 500 event and continued to show why there is so much excitement around him. The teenager has already cracked the top 30, but could rise even higher after this week’s run.

Fils spoke about Jodar’s game afterwards, comparing him to two of the sport’s biggest stars.

Arthur Fils sees Jodar’s style closer to Sinner than Alcaraz

Speaking after the match, Fils was asked about comparisons between Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Jodar.

Jodar and Alcaraz both made early impacts on the Tour as teenagers. Jodar claimed his first ATP title at 19, while Alcaraz did so a year earlier at 18.

“Carlos is already a huge, huge, huge champion,” Fils [pictured below] said. “He’s already there three, four, five years now and he has a lot of experience, and if we talk about the game, Carlos can mix and change a lot of things during the game.

“Rafa [Jodar] today is a little different. He is still young. He is playing very, very good tennis.”

Fils went on to explain why he sees similarities between Jodar and Sinner rather than Jodar and Alcaraz.

“If I have to compare,” Fils added. “I would compare Rafa more like Jannik Sinner: he is very strong from the baseline, on both sides. Can go down the line.”

Sinner currently leads their head-to-head 8-4 – although one of those meetings came when Sinner was just 17 years old in a qualifying round for an ATP Challenger event in Portugal back in 2019.

Fils vs Rublev: A growing rivalry

Fils and Rublev first faced off at the 2024 Hong Kong Open, where Rublev took the win in their quarter-final clash 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

Rublev came out on top in that meeting, taking their quarter-final match in three sets. A few months later, Fils got his revenge at the Monte Carlo Masters, defeating Rublev in straight sets during the round of 16.

They were set to meet again at Roland Garros later that year, but Fils withdrew before they could take the court.

“Rublo [Rublev] is a great champion,” Fils said ahead of Sunday’s clash. “We had some big battles in the past, so it’s not going to be easy.”

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