{"id":31235,"date":"2026-04-23T03:40:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/rafael-jodal-dedicates-his-debut-victory-at-the-madrid-open-to-real-madrids-jude-bellingham\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T03:40:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:40:35","slug":"rafael-jodal-dedicates-his-debut-victory-at-the-madrid-open-to-real-madrids-jude-bellingham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/rafael-jodal-dedicates-his-debut-victory-at-the-madrid-open-to-real-madrids-jude-bellingham\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Jodal dedicates his debut victory at the Madrid Open to Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham"},"content":{"rendered":"


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MADRID (AP) \u2014 After a debut first-round victory at the Madrid Open, Spain’s The latest tennis sensation<\/span> Rafael Jodal raises his arms and spreads them wide, imitating England and Real Madrid soccer star Jude Bellingham as he celebrates a goal.<\/p>\n

Jodal, a 19-year-old Real Madrid fan from Madrid, wrote “Hey Jude” on the lens of one of the television cameras.<\/p>\n

Bellingham, who was in the stands Wednesday, smiled and applauded. The two met briefly afterward and posed for a photo together at Bellingham’s goal celebration.<\/p>\n

“I talked to him after the match and asked him if he liked the match,” Jodal said. “I didn’t know he was coming here. It meant a lot to me. He’s a great guy. I’m so grateful he came. He’s a role model for me and my favorite soccer player.”<\/p>\n

After Hodal won the 2024 US Open Men’s Championship, he met with Bellingham and other Real Madrid players when he received his club’s award at the Santiago Bernab\u00e9u Stadium. <\/p>\n

It took him two and a half hours to beat Jesper de Jong 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Center Court at Caja Magica in the Spanish capital on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

With this victory, Jodal became the third Spaniard to win. Rafael Nadal<\/span> and Carlos Alcaraz<\/span> \u2014 Win the main draw in Madrid before turning 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really looking forward to playing here, but I knew I had to have a solid game from start to finish,\u201d Hodal said. \u201cI\u2019m happy because with this win we can play here again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jodal won in Marrakech earlier this month for his first ATP Tour victory, but he was outside the top 600 in the rankings just a year ago. He entered the top 100 in March and is currently ranked 42nd in the world.<\/p>\n

His next match will be against 5th seed Alex de Minaur (Australia).<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Tennis: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/tennis<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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