Jódar falls in Basel and the ATP Finals becomes complicated

The Spanish tennis player Rafa Jódar was eliminated this Thursday in the second round of the Basel tournament, in the ATP 500 category and which is played in indoor conditions, after losing in three sets against Valentin Vacherot (7-6(4), 2-6 7-6(5)), in a match in which the Monegasque’s determination in the tie breaks of the first and third sets was decisive.

Rafa Jódar says goodbye to the ATP 500 in Basel ahead of schedule. The Madrid native could not overcome Vacherot in the second round, who took advantage of the tie breaks in the first and third sets to certify his victory. A defeat that will not allow Jódar to add more points until the Paris Masters 1000 in his particular fight to be present in the ATP Finals, in which he could be surpassed by the Australian Alex De Miñaur.

A match in which, as expected, serves prevailed. In the first round, Jódar would pay for not taking advantage of any of his three break points in his first three games to the rest. And, despite showing a good level with the serve, the set would be doomed to a tie break. There, Vacherot would take advantage of a ‘mini break’ achieved in the first point to, after adding all the points in which he had his serve, go one set up on the scoreboard (7-4).

It was the Spanish tennis player’s turn to react in the second set and he would do so. The start of the set would be unbeatable with two breaks in their first three games to the rest. This allowed him to go 5-1 on the scoreboard, and after maintaining his next serve, send the match to the third set after a resounding 6-2.

It seemed that Jódar had taken the point from his rival, and the start of the third set would also bring with it a break for the Leganés tennis player. However, with 2-1 in his favor and serve, the Monegasque would get his first and only game in the rest of the match, equalizing everything again. Thus, and after Jódar wasted up to three break points, the tie break would once again dictate the sentence.

In the final game, equality was more than evident, with both players adding the points in which they had their serve until reaching 4-4. There, Jódar would manage to take advantage of a ‘mini break’ (5-4), but he would not be able to consolidate it by losing his next two points with serve. This allowed Vacherot to have his first match point on serve, with which he would close his victory (7-5).