THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 29, 2026

Rafael Jodar

Press Conference

R. JODAR/F. Gill

6-3, 6-3, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Great win. Your first-ever professional match on grass. Talk us through your mindset going through the entire path of last night, this morning prematch, and now.

RAFAEL JODAR: Yeah, it was a tough match. Obviously Felix played very well during the whole match, so I had to, you know, yeah, take care of every detail that I did last night.

I knew I was playing first on today, so yeah, I went to sleep pretty early to get some rest. Yeah, I started this morning very well with a good warm-up, with some time, you know, that it's always good.

In the match I felt great, so I think I did very well the routine from yesterday to today.

Q. What about the grass do you think suits your game? What are you finding more challenging? Can you talk to us a little bit about how you're adapting to the surface?

RAFAEL JODAR: Yeah, I think this surface is a bit different from the other two. You have to be, I think, I mean, you have to pay more attention to every detail, because everything goes very fast, and if you don't serve very well one game, then getting that break back is difficult.

But I think I handled very well the situations in the match today, so I'm happy about that.

Q. Before Rafa Nadal came along, it had been a long time before Spanish players actually did well at Wimbledon. I can't remember the exact dates. Was Rafa the guy that made all Spaniards believe that you could come and play really good grass court tennis?

RAFAEL JODAR: I mean, Rafa did great in all the surfaces, so I'm not surprised a lot he did well here. I mean, all the Spaniards do well. I mean, most of them are better on clay, but I think nowadays, you have to adapt very well to all the surfaces, because you are playing -- I mean, three weeks ago I was playing in the French Open on clay, and then you have to switch your mind and play on grass in the next week.

So you just have to adapt as quick as possible. That's the goal for every player, I think.

Q. Going back to your time at university, what do you think are the main things, if anything, that you can take from that experience into playing big matches like this?

RAFAEL JODAR: Well, that year in college really helped me to, yeah, to be more mature, to develop as a player. I learn a lot. I played a lot of matches. I was very confident when I faced the matches. Obviously the team really helped me to get used to the culture and to the things that they do there.

Yeah, super grateful of that step, of that year that I was at UVA, and obviously I'm still in touch with some of the players and with most of the players and with the coach, as well. Yeah, it was a really good year for me.

Q. Do you get many messages from the players and the coaches there when...

RAFAEL JODAR: Yeah, all my teammates, we are very good friends, we spent a good year together at UVA, we did a lot of things together. So, yeah, we have a good relationship, and hopefully they can come to some of the matches as well.

Q. Two years ago you played here on grass at Wimbledon. How much confidence did that give you?

RAFAEL JODAR: Yeah, I mean, I played two years ago here juniors, and I think that really helped me to, I mean, get used to the grass, let's say. But I think it's a totally different story, where professional everyone plays I think better. And it was a great experience to play juniors here, to get used to the tournament to know where all the things are, how the transition works.

Yeah, that year of juniors was very grateful, and I have very good memories of my junior career.

Q. It looked like you had a good group of maybe friends who were supporting you today on court. I was wondering, what is it like to be able to, yeah, bring friends to a place like Wimbledon and for them to see you on court there for the first time?

RAFAEL JODAR: Yeah, it's great. It's great to have good friends, you know, from back home, from Madrid, in the stands that they can enjoy the match. I used to practice with them when I was younger and even when I'm in Madrid I still practice with them.

So it's great that I had, you know, like, the chance to invite them and to see them in the stand cheering for me, it's super grateful. To see them happy makes me happy (smiling).

Q. I think this time last year you were somewhere around 500 in the world, I think. So how have you made this adaptation, and have you found it comfortable to suddenly be playing at this level of tennis? Have you surprised yourself?

RAFAEL JODAR: Well, it's true that everything has gone very fast, but I know that every tournament is different. You know, you have to be focused on every match, because not from, you know, coming, doing very well, you know, in other tournaments means that you're going to do well here. You just have to go match by match, accepting the situations that come to the match.

For example, today there were some situations in the second set, at the end of second set and in the third set, in the beginning that, you know, I had to be mentally tough. And I did great. But yeah, I go week by week and step by step.