Nakashima Stuns Fritz to Set Up DC Open Final vs Jódar

Nakashima Completes the Week's Most Ruthless Upset Run

Brandon Nakashima has had one of the great individual weeks at the DC Open. After knocking out defending champion Alex de Minaur 7-6(5), 6-4 in the quarter-finals, the American backed it up on Saturday by beating top seed Taylor Fritz 7-6(5), 6-4 — an identical scoreline, a familiar level of composure. Nakashima barely raised his voice throughout either match; he simply served well, returned better, and converted when it counted. He is in his first DC Open final.

Fritz, the world number three and the most experienced hard-court player in this half of the draw, pushed the first set to a tiebreak but could not close it out. Once Nakashima won the breaker, the momentum never fully returned to the American top seed. Fritz served for the set in the second but Nakashima broke back and closed out 6-4. It was, in the context of this week, a statement performance: winning a 500-level semi-final without drop-off after eliminating the defending champion is how players announce themselves at this level.

Jódar: From Outside the Top 700 to an ATP 500 Final in Twelve Months

On the other side of the draw, Rafael Jódar's week continued its almost-improbable arc. The 19-year-old Spaniard conceded the first set to Alejandro Tabilo without winning a game — 1-6 — then reset, won the second 6-1, and took the decider 6-4 to reach his first ATP 500 final. It was the same pattern he showed in his quarter-final victory over Lorenzo Musetti: a difficult first set, a sharp adjustment, and then a dominant close. Jódar made his opponent feel the match was changing before they realised it had already changed.

The numbers behind Jódar's trajectory are difficult to overstate. Born on 17 September 2006, he was ranked outside the ATP top 700 barely twelve months ago. In April 2026, he won his first ATP title in Marrakech. He has since reached quarterfinals at Masters 1000 level on clay, climbed to a career-high inside the top 25, and now stands one match from winning an ATP 500 title. His Washington run alone — beating Kei Nishikori, Lorenzo Musetti and Alejandro Tabilo on hard courts — is the kind of week that rewrites a career narrative.

Sunday's Final: A New Face and a Breakout Story

Sunday's final between Nakashima and Jódar is a meeting of two players with nothing in their respective résumés to suggest fear of the moment. Nakashima has shown an ability to elevate in high-pressure points all week; Jódar has shown an ability to find another gear when a set or a match is sliding away. It will be the first ATP Tour meeting between the two.

The DC Open title is worth significant ranking points and has historically been a strong US Open form guide. Both players will be aware of what Sunday represents: for Nakashima, a first major hard-court title; for Jódar, confirmation that his clay-court breakthrough has translated seamlessly to the North American hard-court conditions. The final is scheduled for Sunday at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center before the hard-court swing shifts north to Montreal.