Rafa Jódar, Spanish Davis Cup No. 1 after his failure at the US Open: “For a 19-year-old boy to assimilate all this is complicated”

Year of constant discoveries for Rafa Jodaralready on the launch pad towards another new challenge for him, the debut in the Davis Cup this weekend in Santiago de Chilewhere Spain will look for his place in the Bologna Finals (Italy, November 24-29).

His rise in the world ranking has been so meteoric that, absent Carlos AlcarazJódar, world number 14, will act as number 1 of the team captained by David Ferrer, which has also called Dani Merida (41st), Martin Landaluce (62nd), Jaume Munar (68º) and Pedro Martinez (132º).

Jódar will premiere in the ‘Salad bowl’ just after taking a loud crash in the US Openthe fourth and last grand slam of the season, where he fell miserably in the 1st round against the semi-unknown Yunchaokete Bu (6-2, 6-1, 6-1) when he was one of the great attractions of the New York tournament and had shown in the previous months that he had tennis to reach distant rounds.

“The way is to enjoy the process and improve little by little. It is my first year on the circuit and I know that I have many things left to improve and that everything that happens to me this year will be new for me,” Jódar said at the Spanish team’s press conference in Santiago de Chile, where he expects a team with Alejandro Tabilo as the greatest threat.

“It’s true that everything is going very fast, but I’m enjoying it, with my feet on the ground, being the same humble person as I was two years ago, which I think is helping me a lot. That’s thanks to all the people who really appreciate me and want the best for me,” explained the man from Madrid.

“I see that I can compete against the majority of players on the circuit, but I think that if you want to be among the best players in the world for many years, in the end you have to take care of every detail to the millimeter and do all things very well,” he stated. Jodar.

“I am discovering that I am a brave person and, in the end, for a 19 or 20-year-old boy to assimilate all this is complicated. I have gotten to where I have by working little by little, without thinking about bigger things. That is a mentality that my father and my entire family have transmitted to me and that helps me a lot to face these types of commitments and games,” concluded the Spanish player.