For a player who just entered the professional tennis world, Rafael Jodar’s is amazing to watch. In fact, his matches are so enjoyable that in his 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 win over Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp, the upper sections of Stadium Court were filled with Spanish fans, giving him all the motivation he needed to yet again convert a possible end of the Beijing campaign into a victory worth remembering. But, of course, the pressure to reach Turin is ever present at this point, and he is oh so close.

The pressure, however, did get to him at one point, and the referee of the match, the Colombian Edgar Rodríguez, did not overlook the episode.

Jódar to a ball kid: “Give me the f—ing towel, damn it!”
Rodríguez: Gives him a warning.
Jódar: “You give me a warning, man…”
Rodríguez: “I understand, but not like that. Ask me and I’ll ask him.”
Jódar: “But I didn’t say anything bad to him…”
Rodríguez: “I can’t repeat it, you know what you said, I can’t repeat it now. Not like that, we don’t talk to them like that.”
Jódar: “We’ve been playing for an hour and ten minutes, man. He goes away for a second, I say something and you already give me a warning. It’s unbelievable, you can really tell you’re not on the court.”

While Jodar wanted to hurry the ball kid, who wasn’t at the same pace as him, because he could’ve received a time warning. Rodríguez did not overlook his behavior and gave the 20-year-old a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. Jodar tried to plead his case. But the umpire’s decision was final, and it did make an impact.

Jodar spoke to the ball kids in a calmer tone for the rest of the game. It wouldn’t be the first time that the Spaniard has been involved in an incident with a ball kid.

This was just another scenario involving the ball kids for Jodar

At the French Open, the 20-year-old was initially thought to have pushed a ball girl out of his way when coming back from a toilet break. Different camera angles, however, did show that there was no contact between the player and the girl in question, with the latter falling of her own accord while trying to backpedal out of Jodar’s way.

Jodar issued a statement, vehemently stating that he had not pushed the girl in any way, but the Spaniard remained the centerpiece of fan criticism on social media.

In the next Slam at Wimbledon, fans were not impressed when Jodar showed no gratitude towards a ball girl who had picked up his racket, as the Spaniard had fallen on the court while chasing a ball.

The Jodar-ballkid saga had its most comical moment in Washington, when one of the ball kids (or a ball from the stands) accidentally hit the Spaniard with a ball during his match against Lorenzo Musetti. While the onlookers in the stadium found the humor in the incident, the Spaniard did not look amused and was seen glaring at the ball kid in question. While we are talking about Jodar’s incidents that rile up the fans, we have to mention his shoelaces.

The Spaniard’s shoelaces first broke in his final against Taylor Fritz in Washington, and continued all across the hard-court swing, until the Laver Cup. Fans often accused the Spaniard of a lack of gamesmanship that disrupted his opponent’s rhythm, especially when the scoreboard was not in his favor.

However, to Jodar’s credit, in each of the matches that involved a slight skirmish with a ball kid, the Spaniard did not let it affect his performance, a trend that continued in Shanghai.

Rafael Jodar Does Not Let Ball Kid Incidents Affect His Performance

Alex Michelsen in Roland Garros, Pablo Carreno-Busta at Wimbledon, or Lorenzo Musetti in Washington — in each of the three matches where a ball kid drama involved Jodar, the Spaniard did not let the controversy mar his performance. It’s the reason why he climbed from rank No. 168 at the beginning of this season to 13th to start October. The same continued against Van de Zandschulp in Shanghai.

Despite missing two break points in the opening set, Jodar converted on the third, taking the lead. While his Dutch opponent did get the break back, Jodar took the decisive lead at 5-4 and, after missing five set points, finally took his chance on the sixth in the tenth game, winning the set.

The third set started the same, with Jodar once again breaking in the opening game to take a 1-0 lead. This time, he left no opportunity for his opponent to make a comeback, securing a double break in the seventh game and serving it out confidently at 6-2 to win the match.

Having won his fourth-round match, Jodar will now face Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Norwegian reached the round barely half an hour into his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime due to the latter’s retirement after an injury. Ranked 11th on the ATP Race Rankings after the win, Jodar will aim for a second Masters semifinal of his career in order to boost his qualification chances for Turin.