Rafael Jodar swept to victory in his first-ever appearance for Spain at the Davis Cup.
The 20-year-old produced an incredible performance to beat Cristian Garin 6-0, 6-2 to give Spain a 2-0 lead against Chile away from home, after Daniel Merida defeated Alejandro Tabilo.
Jodar is the highest-ranked player on the Spanish team as Carlos Alcaraz is not playing and there was plenty of pressure on the young star heading into the difficult tie.
That did not seem to affect the Spaniard and he has now managed an achievement that Rafael Nadal did not manage while on Davis Cup duty for Spain.
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Nadal made his Davis Cup debut all the way back in 2004 as a 17-year-old but he did not begin with winning ways, as he lost to Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic.
That means Jodar has now started his Davis Cup campaign better than Nadal, although he will be lucky to get anywhere close to the King of Clay’s record for Spain.
After his defeat to Novak in 2004, Nadal went undefeated for Spain in singles action for two decades, until his final match against Botic van de Zandschulp in 2024.
Nadal lost in straight sets to the big serving Dutchman to confirm just his second defeat in Davis Cup singles action, which was his final match in tennis.
The King of Clay ended his career with an exceptional 29-2 winning record in singles action and he also had a winning record when he played doubles.
The star won eight of his doubles matches and lost four, which helped him and Spain claim the Davis Cup title four times between 2004 and 2019.
As for Jodar, he will be hoping to continue his undefeated streak in Davis Cup action for Spain as he plays Tabilo in his next rubber in Chile. With the score a 2-0 already, a victory will confirm Spain’s place in the Davis Cup Finals.
With Carlos Alcaraz potentially to come back into the fold for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals, they could be one of the top favourites to win the title this year.
Alcaraz is yet to win the Davis Cup in his career, so it’s very likely he will be adding the Finals to his schedule at the end of the season.
The Davis Cup Finals is set to take place between the 24th and 29th November, and it will take place in Bolgna, Italy once again.
Italy are the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2024 and 2025. The last time Spain won the title was 2019, when Nadal was lining up for the side.
