Jodar continues Spain’s teenage tradition with ATP title in Morocco

Rafael Jodar joined the list of title-winning Spanish teenagers with his victory at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Morocco on Sunday and the ​19-year-old said having the right mentality was the key to success ‌in his first ATP tournament on clay.

Jodar’s 6-3 6-2 win over Marco Trungelliti put him into an elite group of Spaniards who captured ATP titles as teenagers in the ​professional era, including Rafa Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero ​and Tommy Robredo.

Ranked outside the top 900 a year ago, Jodar ⁠climbed to a career-high world number 57 on Monday.

“It was the first ​tournament on clay for me so it was going to be difficult at ​the beginning, but I always have the mentality that I have to give my best tennis and what I have in that match,” Jodar told the ATP website.

“That’s what I ​did in all the matches, so it means a lot to win my ​first ATP title in Marrakech.”

Jodar said he was trying to follow in the footsteps of ‌his ⁠idol, 22-times Grand Slam champion Nadal, but he did not set himself targets for the year.

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“I never set a goal in the season. Just to try to give my best and improve my tennis level,” he added.

“But overall, I ​think I did a ​great week on ⁠clay here in Morocco, so I’m very happy how the week went for me and I will try to ​make sure this is just the beginning. It has to ​give me ⁠motivation for the next challenges.”

Argentina’s Trungelliti was left impressed by Jodar after a 69-minute mauling.

“Today, I guess I got kicked by this young man,” said the 36-year-old, the ⁠oldest ​first-time tour-level finalist in the professional era.

“It was ​sad for me because I was expecting a great final, but at least you saw a great ​final from one side.”