Next Gen ATP Finals
Jodar saves 4 MPs, stuns top seed Tien in Jeddah thriller
Landaluce vs. Budkov Kjaer to close night-session action on Day 1
December 17, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Rafael Jodar stuns 2024 finalist Learner in an explosive Jeddah debut.
By ATP Staff
Rafael Jodar ensured that there was no shortage of drama on his debut appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah on Wednesday evening.
The World No. 168 saved four match points in a courageous 1-4, 4-3(3), 1-4, 4-2, 4-3(4) win over top seed and tournament favourite Learner Tien in front of a vibrant crowd. Jodar, who was in Jeddah last year as a hitting partner, delivered a heavy-hitting display and used his fearless aggression late in the fifth-set to earn a two-hour victory.
That Jodar celebration 🎉 #NextGenATPFinals pic.twitter.com/RiAFMLmyrJ
— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) December 17, 2025
“It was a battle,” said Jodar. “I knew the conditions were good for both, but I handled the good moments very well and I’m super happy to get the first win here in Jeddah. I just tried to keep going and believe in myself. Learner always plays well, so I had to keep believing and I knew that I was going to have a chance.”
Tien, the World No. 28 and only Top 100 player in the field, leaked 23 unforced errors across the second and fourth sets to offer Jodar a route back into their first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash. But the 19-year-old Spaniard will take all the plaudits for the way he fended off the match points — including a drilled backhand down-the-line winner on the fourth.
After moving to 1-0 in Blue Group, the seventh-seeded Jodar can now look ahead to meetings with two fellow debutants — Martin Landaluce and Nicolai Budkov Kjaer — in the round-robin stage.
