When matches end at 1 AM, it’s not just the players who suffer; it’s the integrity of the tournament. The Madrid Open has been a tournament of attrition, with withdrawals and illnesses plaguing the field. Now, a match finishing after 1 AM has drawn the ire of the World No. 1, adding a scheduling controversy to the growing list of issues in Madrid. Jannik Sinner has called for scheduling adjustments at the Madrid Open after his potential quarterfinal opponent, Rafael Jodar, had a very late finish to his R32 clash.

Jodar recorded a hard-fought 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Joao Fonseca to qualify for the R16. The two-hour and nine-minute match reached its conclusion at nearly 1 AM (CET). This comes after the ATP and WTA had introduced new scheduling guidelines last year in order to reduce the number of matches finishing after midnight. Sinner raised concerns about the tournament’s scheduling following his 6-2, 7-5 victory over Cameron Norrie in the R16.

“I feel like we need to make some adjustments to the scheduling of the day. The matches end very late, even though they have one day between. It’s still very, very late to finish at 1:30. You need to eat and have treatment, so that’s very late. We try to adapt ourselves, our bodies and minds,” he said during his post-match interview.

In order to provide Jodar the maximum time to recover from his clash, the organizers decided to schedule his R16 match against Vit Kopriva at 4 PM (CET). This resulted in Sinner’s clash against Norrie beginning at 11 AM (CET). Though the Italian had rarely ever been scheduled to play at such a time, he didn’t have any complaints with it.

“I don’t know the last time I played at 11, but for me, it doesn’t matter what time. I try to do my best. There was a question whether I or Jodar plays at 4. I think it’s right that he plays at 4 because he finished very, very late.”

Back in 2023, Andy Murray had raised similar scheduling concerns after a 4:05 AM finish at the 2023 Australian Open. While Murray defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5, he called for a change in scheduling plans, criticizing late-night tennis.

With that said, the win over Norrie was Sinner’s 25th consecutive triumph at a Masters 1000 event. He has already captured three Masters titles this year and has also come out as the winner in Paris last year. The World No. 1 didn’t allow Norrie to settle throughout the first set and broke his serve twice to take the lead just 35 minutes into the match.

Sinner would continue the momentum in the second set and would break Norrie’s serve for the third time to take a 3-2 lead. However, the Brit broke right back to level up the set at 3-3. Though it looked like the set would go into a tiebreaker at one stage, Sinner managed to edge ahead at the death with a decisive break that handed him a 6-5 lead. The 24-year-old held his serve to wrap up the match in an hour and 26 minutes.

After looking a little shaky during his 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Benjamin Bonzi in the first round, Sinner has gotten back to his best in the following matches. He recorded a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over Elmer Moller in the second round before defeating Norrie in straight sets as well.

Analyzing his opponents for the quarterfinals, Sinner had nothing but praise for Jodar. He pointed out how the Spaniard is a very clean hitter of the ball and maintains his calm attitude in all kinds of situations.

Jannik Sinner hails Rafael Jodar as a “very, very talented” player

“He’s a very, very talented player. Jodar is a very, very clean hitter, very easy power. You can hear with the sound, you know, when he touches it, and it’s a good sound coming from the racquet. He’s very, very talented. He’s going to be a great, great player in the future, and he’s already showing. I like the mentality; it’s quite calm. I don’t know him personally, but he seems very humble. So, yeah, he’s a very, very good player, and I wish him only the best,” he stated.

Jodar has already had quite an impressive campaign at the Madrid Open. After fighting hard to claim a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Jesper De Jong in his opening match, the 19-year-old caused a major upset by eliminating Alex de Minaur in the next round. He handed a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1 defeat to the Australian.

Jodar then went on to defeat Fonseca and will face Sinner if he gets past Kopriva in the R16. He hasn’t faced the World No. 1 in a tour-level match as of yet, so no one would really know what to expect from their encounter.

Though Sinner would still be the favorite to win if the match happens, Jodar isn’t the kind of player to go down easily and will give the Italian a run for his money. Will the two finally get to face each other for the first time in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, or will their long wait continue even further?