Sakamoto v Jodar: battle of junior champs turned Grand Slam debutants

Japan’s Rei Sakamoto knows all about winning at the Australian Open having done so in his junior days, now he is back and set to make his Grand Slam main draw debut in Melbourne.

Former junior world No. 1 Sakamoto was crowned Australian Open boys’ champion as he made a blistering start to the 2024 season, rising to No. 1 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings.

Two year later and Sakamoto will contest the main draw at a Grand Slam for the first time after defeating Great Britain’s Dan Evans, Colton Smith of the United States and Italy’s Giulio Zeppieri in qualifying.

Sakamoto will face fellow 19-year-old and former Junior Grand Slam champion Rafael Jodar in the first round, with the victor drawing swords with either Jakub Mensik of Czechia or Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in round two.

Jodar, who dispatched Australia’s Li Tu, Chris Rodesch of Luxembourg and Frenchman Luca van Assche in qualifying, is a former junior world No. 4 who won the US Open Junior Championships in 2024.

Like Sakamoto, Jodar has proceeded to progress along the player pathway, initially competing on the ITF World Tennis Tour before progressing to ATP Challenger Tour level. Both players have three ATP Challenger Tour titles to their name.