Spain’s Rafael Jodar dedicates 1st Round win to idol Jude Bellingham

‘Hey Jude’, The Beatles’ iconic number is back in flavour, not that the 1968 hit was ever out of it.

On Wednesday, Spain’s latest tennis sensation Rafael Jódar won his first round at the Madrid Open, raised his arms and opened them wide to imitate the goal celebration of England and Real Madrid football star Jude Bellingham.

The 19-year-old Jódar, a Madrid native and a Real Madrid fan, then wrote "Hey Jude" on the lens of one of the TV cameras.

It was a fanboy moment that did not go unnoticed by the English footballer who was in the stands to watch the Spanish prodigy. The 22-year-old midfielder smiled and applauded and following the match, the two met briefly and posed for a photo doing Bellingham's goal celebration together.

"I talked to him after the match, asked him if he had liked it," Jódar said. "I didn't know that he was going to be here, it meant a lot to me. He's a great person. I'm very grateful that he came. He's an example for me, he's my favourite football player."

Jódar had met Bellingham and other Real Madrid players when he was honoured by the club at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium following his title at the 2024 US Open Boys' championship.

On Wednesday, he needed two-and-a-half hours to rally past Jesper de Jong 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 at the Caja Magica centre court in the Spanish capital.

With the victory, Jódar became just the third Spaniard – after his namesake Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz – to earn a main-draw win in Madrid before turning 20.

"I was really looking forward to competing here, but I knew I had to play a solid match from start to finish," Jódar said. "I'm happy because this victory allows me to play another match here."

Jódar, who earlier this month won in Marrakech for his first ATP Tour title, was outside the top 600 in the rankings just a year ago. He entered the top 100 in March, and is now No 42 in the world, a meteoric rise that already has critics and fans alike labelling him as the next big thing in Spanish tennis.

He will next face formidable fifth-seed Alex de Minaur of Australia.