Ben Shelton Blown Away by What Rafael Jodar Has Been Doing: “He’ll Break Into the Top 10”

Ben Shelton could meet Rafael Jodar if they beat Learner Tien and Brandon Nakashima, respectively, in the semifinals of the ongoing Canadian Open. Shelton is really impressed with what the Spaniard has been doing.

Jodar was ranked outside of the top 500 last year, but now he is on the verge of breaking into the top 10. The World No.15, playing on the ATP Tour for the first time, has already made two finals.

He first won in Marrakech by beating Marco Trungelliti. The 19-year-old then came close to winning his career’s first ATP 500 title in Washington, but he lost the match to Taylor Fritz.

He made deep runs in every clay-court event, including at the French Open, where eventual champion Alexander Zverev beat him in the quarterfinals. And now, on his maiden Canadian Open appearance, Jodar will be playing in the semifinals.

I’m really impressed with Rafa and the way he’s come onto the tour. I didn’t expect another college player to be ranked 500th in the world and then break into the top 20 within three years. He’ll probably break into the top 10 and surpass what I did in 2023. I think he has a great game, a complete game, he’s a great athlete, he has a forehand, backhand, and return at the level of the best in the world.

Ben Shelton said at the press conference

Jodar will be meeting Nakashima for the first time in his career. Before facing the American, Jodar clinched a straight-set win over Arthur Fils.

I was very entertained by his three matches against Arthur this year. They’re hitting the ball incredibly well from the baseline. I’m very happy for him, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how he progresses and what he does over the next 18 months.

Ben Shelton added

The fifth seed will be locking horns with Tien for the third time. Their previous clashes ended in Tien’s favor. Tien will be playing a Masters 1000 semifinal for the first time in his career. Before this event, he had made the quarterfinals at this level just once, in Indian Wells. Tien has so far played three tour-level finals, winning the 2025 Moselle Open and the 2026 Geneva Open, and losing the 2025 China Open.

Ben Shelton on his match against Jakub Mensik

Ben Shelton called his 6-3, 6-1 win over Jakub Mensik his best match of the Canadian Open. The win helped the World No.10 improve his head-to-head record to 2-2.

Yes, I think it was my best match of the week. The way I returned, the concentration I had from start to finish, the consistency I managed to maintain, getting into his service games and not losing my serve… It was my most complete performance so far this week.

Ben Shelton said at the press conference

Before arriving in Toronto, Shelton, also the defending champion, reached the quarterfinals of the Citi Open, where Alejandro Tabilo defeated him. Shelton is now bidding to reach his fourth final of the season.

Following his Dallas Open win over Taylor Fritz, the American ace beat Flavio Cobolli in the Munich Open final before beating his compatriot again, this time in the Stuttgart Open final, to win his career’s first title on grass.

Prior to this event, the 23-year-old failed to advance past the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament, reaching the stage once, in Indian Wells. Following the Canadian Open, Shelton will be hoping to progress beyond the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters. He made the last eight in the previous two seasons.

Also read: Iga Swiatek Reveals Reason Behind Strong Performance in Toronto After Reaching Second Semifinal of 2026 Season