Big shock for Rafael Jodar: early exit

A major surprise occurred in the Round of 32 at Wimbledon, the season's third Grand Slam. The tournament's 23rd seed Rafael Jodar was eliminated in four sets by Shintaro Mochizuki, ranked 151st in the world, bowing out of the event early. Despite the ranking gap, Mochizuki came out the winner, and the Japanese player booked his place in the next round. The contest, played at the All England Club, lasted three hours and two minutes.

Rafael Jodar was the side who started strongly. Winning the first set 6-1, the seeded player began the match with an advantageous look. But this superiority did not last long. Shintaro Mochizuki raised his game in the second set and, winning the passage that went to a tie-break 7-6 (7-5), made it 1-1.

Having taken control from the second set on, Mochizuki maintained his superiority in the third and fourth sets as well. The Japanese player won the third set 6-4 and the fourth again 6-4 to complete the match with a 3-1 scoreline, pulling off a big surprise. Rafael Jodar could not carry his first-set superiority into the later stages.

The match statistics offered significant data that explained the result. Although Rafael Jodar was ahead of his opponent in points won, the high number of unforced errors he made negatively affected the consistency of his game. Mochizuki, by contrast, kept control of the match with fewer errors and an effective first serve. As the next opponent of Shintaro Mochizuki, who advanced to the next round with this win, is awaited with interest, Rafael Jodar has bowed out of the tournament unexpectedly.

Image: Sofascore

Match by the numbers: Winners 41-34, unforced errors 52-24, break points won 7/13-7/19, first-serve points won 59%-70%, second-serve points won 51%-46%. Set scores: 6-1, 6-7(5), 4-6, 4-6.