London, June 29 (IANS) Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar made a confident start to his Wimbledon 2026 campaign, defeating British wildcard Felix Gill 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 on Monday to reach the second round in his first tour-level match on grass.

Despite his limited experience, the 19-year-old adapted impressively. He broke Gill five times out of 11 chances and won 84 percent of points behind his first serve, finishing the match in one hour and 56 minutes.

Reflecting on his performance, Jodar acknowledged that grass poses a unique challenge but felt satisfied with how he managed. “I think this surface is a bit different from the other two,” Jodar said after the match. “You have to pay more attention to every detail because everything goes very fast, and if you don’t serve well in one game, then getting that break back is difficult. But I think I handled the situations in the match today very well, so I’m happy about that.”

The victory marked Jodar’s first win against World No. 220 Gill in their head-to-head record and earned him a spot in Spanish tennis history. He became only the sixth Spanish teenager in the Open Era to win a men’s singles main-draw match at Wimbledon, joining Jose Moreno Tallada, Sergi Bruguera, Tommy Robredo, Rafael Nadal, and Carlos Alcaraz.

Jodar arrived at the All England Club as the 23rd seed after a remarkable breakthrough season. The 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals participant won his first ATP Tour title in Marrakech in April. He reached back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome. Earlier this month, he also achieved his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros.

In the second round, he will face fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. This match is a rematch of their memorable fourth-round battle at Roland Garros, where Jodar came back from two sets down to win. Carreno Busta secured his spot after Denis Shapovalov retired while trailing 6-3, 7-6(7) in their opening-round match.

–IANS

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