Rafa Jódar defeated Alejandro Tabilo in Cincinnati, moving within 654 points of the ATP top 10. The Madrid native could break Boris Becker’s record for fastest rise from top 100. His next challenge is against Flavio Cobolli.
Rafa Jódar has taken another major step toward the ATP top 10 after a commanding victory over Alejandro Tabilo at the Cincinnati Masters. The Madrid-born player, who has already secured 49 wins this season—five more than world number one Jannik Sinner—dispatched Tabilo 6-2, 6-1 to reach the round of 16. With this result, Jódar is now just 654 points behind Taylor Fritz, who currently holds the last spot in the elite group.
This season has seen Jódar maintain remarkable consistency, reaching the final in Washington and the semifinals in Montreal. His rapid ascent through the rankings puts him on the verge of making history: if he enters the top 10 in Cincinnati, he could surpass Boris Becker’s 1985 record for the fastest jump from the top 100 to the top 10, which Becker achieved in 210 days. Jódar entered the ATP elite on March 30, meaning only 140 days have passed since then.
To break Becker’s record, Jódar would need to win the Cincinnati title, but he will have another mathematical chance at the US Open, which runs from August 30 to September 13. As a seeded player at the final Grand Slam of the year, he is also closing in on a place at the ATP Finals in Turin, reserved for the season’s top eight. Currently, Jódar sits seventh in the Race 2026 standings with 2,499 points, just 81 behind Daniil Medvedev.
His next opponent in Cincinnati will be Flavio Cobolli, the seventh seed and recent Roland Garros finalist. Cobolli advanced after a tough three-set battle against Alexander Blockx. The upcoming match will be the first meeting between Jódar and Cobolli. Jódar’s dominance over Tabilo was evident from the opening game, breaking serve early and winning five of the first six games. The Spaniard had previously beaten Tabilo in the Washington Open semifinals.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Jódar conceding only one game and sealing victory in just 75 minutes. Notably, only Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton had reached the Cincinnati round of 16 before age 20 in the past decade, placing Jódar among rare company. The tournament has already seen weather disruptions, as highlighted in recent coverage of rain delays affecting Spanish players in Cincinnati.
For context, the ATP ranking system rewards consistent performance at high-level tournaments, with points accumulated over a rolling 52-week period. Breaking into the top 10 is a significant milestone, often marking a player’s arrival among the sport’s elite. Jódar’s rapid progress reflects both his form and the shifting dynamics at the top of men’s tennis. With the US Open and the ATP Finals approaching, his results in Cincinnati could prove decisive for his season and career trajectory.
