Rafael Jodar is going to be a star. The Spaniard isn't simply a clay-court specialist; he has proven he can play well on hard courts too. His problem in the Citi Open final was that he was facing Taylor Fritz, who is better on hard courts than on any other surface.
Oddly, though, Jodar, who has moved up to No. 15 on the ATP Tour, had won a tournament this year. Fritz had not. He has made some deep runs at events, but hasn't been able to close the deal. That might have been weighing on him as he prepared to go against Jodar.
The first set was exactly what tennis fans would expect. Both players were serving with precision and power, and not many break opportunities were available. Still, great veteran players know when to elevate their play, and Fritz did that in the opening set tie-break. He dominated it 7-2.
Taylor Fritz earns his first title of the year by defeating Rafael Jodar at the 2026 Citi Open
How much that affected the 19-year-old Jodar was obvious to begin set two. Fritz got the break after a long game, held with ease, and then got another break at love. Jodar was done, and he was learning a brutal lesson at the same time.
One in which he likely needed to learn. All young players go through some difficulties. It is how one adjusts after those difficult matches that will define their careers. Hopefully, the Spaniard will be fine, and he certainly has the skill set to be quite good. He was simply being swept off the Washington, DC, courts by a player in better form on their favorite surface.
Fritz was doing everything well. He committed exceedingly few unforced errors, and even his second serve was brilliant through the first set and the first three games of set two. He did run into some issues serving at 3-0, however. Jodar got to deuce, which felt like a win in itself. The problem was that even if he got a break against Fritz, he had already been broken twice in three games.
After a double fault by Fritz, Jodar did get the break. Maybe the match was on the verge of changing its narrative, but Fritz still had the extra break in his pocket.
Each player continued to hold until Fritz was serving for the match at 5-4. Jodar had taken a medical timeout before the game after falling on his wrist two games before. That appeared to miff Fritz a bit, but Jodar did appear to be ailing somewhat. Still, he had won his service game, so the American wasn't completely out of bounds to be annoyed.
Ultimately it didn't matter. Fritz held to take the second set 6-4, and get his first title of 2026.
Next for both Taylor Fritz and Rafael Jodar is the Canadian Open. The Masters 1000 has already begun (the Citi Open final was pushed from Sunday to Monday due to rain). Each is scheduled to play on Tuesday, though that could change to Wednesday.
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