Of course, ball-bashing isn’t everything in a prodigy. The ability to translate it into winning is a separate skill. Jodar seems to be getting the hang of that at the pro level, too—this was his eighth straight victory. And there were a couple of moments when his winner’s instincts came to the fore.
The first was at 2-2 in the second set. Jodar was one point from taking a set and a break lead, but Norrie wouldn’t let him through the door. Twice Jodar reached break point, and twice he was denied. On the third, Norrie appeared to have denied him again with an excellent drop shot. But Jodar managed to reverse course in mid-stride, use his length to put his racquet on the ball, and then use his good hands to direct it into the open court for a winner and the break. What had looked like a moment when the kid might fall to earth turned into the opposite.
“I think I handled the important moments and the pressure moments in the match very well,” Jodar said. “I think I played those points specifically very well.”
Jodar says he’s still flying on the confidence he built in Marrakesh, and you could see it as he came down the homestretch. At 4-2, with a chance at a second break, he saw an open court and wasted no time powering a backhand into it for another winner. If you were waiting, like me, for a few late-match nerves to kick in, you waited in vain.
