Also born in 2006, he made history earlier than Fonseca!

This morning Beijing time, a noteworthy record was born at the Miami Masters. 20-year-old Spanish rising star Landalus, who emerged from the qualifiers, defeated home player and 32nd seed Korda in a three-set comeback in the fourth round, becoming the "first" among players born in 2006 or later to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP Masters event (Fonseca, born in the same year, has not reached a Masters quarterfinal). Simultaneously, ranked No. 151 in the world, he is also the lowest-ranked player to reach the quarterfinals at this tournament since Jim Grabb (No. 185) in 1994.

Landalus (Photo: Visual China)

He is a future star who emerged from the Nadal Tennis Academy

Landalus is another emerging force from the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy. He first caught the tennis world's attention in 2022 when, at 16, he won the US Open boys' singles title. The next day, his compatriot Alcaraz lifted his first Grand Slam trophy there. Over the past two seasons, Landalus has been active on the Challenger circuit, winning one ATP Challenger title each in 2024 and 2025. During this period, he also delivered notable performances in Grand Slam and Masters qualifiers, including breaking through the qualifiers to reach the second round at last year's Cincinnati Masters and making his debut at the ATP Next Gen Finals at the end of last year.

Looking back at this morning's match against Korda in Miami, Landalus quickly lost the first set 2-6. Korda, coming with strong confidence after upsetting world No. 1 Alcaraz in the third round, reached a match point at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreak. Landalus then blasted a backhand winner to forcefully save it, followed by winning two more points to level the match. He excitedly jumped in celebration and carried this energy into the deciding set, where the Spanish youngster won 6-4 to seal the victory. Notably, Nadal's sister Maribel was also present at the match, witnessing Landalus's historic entry into the quarterfinals.

Asked about his first thought after winning, Landalus said: "My grandmother. Last week she would have been 101 years old, but she passed away a few months ago. I want to dedicate this victory to her."

Alcaraz (Photo: Li Jianyi)

Speaking about that inspired shot at match point, Landalus mentioned the fighting spirit shared by Spanish players: "I had to hit a good return, and I really did it, hitting a winner. Winning that point in such a way felt amazing. All Spanish players play like this; they have that fighting spirit—Ferrero, Ferrer, Nadal, Carlos (Alcaraz)... I've been watching them play like that since I started with tennis, and now I'm in this position, so I must try to do the same."

He is knocking on the door of the Top 100

Professional tennis has the most dense and brutal schedule, with new tournaments awaiting players every week. This means that regardless of your position, every week is a reshuffle and a chance to start anew. Before the Miami Masters began, Landalus had not secured any main-draw wins on the tour this year. Prior to this year, he had only achieved two tour-level main-draw victories, the first one precisely came from Miami two years ago. This vibrant city deeply infused with Hispanic culture has already become a fortunate ground for his career.

Breaking through from the qualifiers at this event, he has now secured a six-match winning streak, including victories over home player Giron and two Top 20 players, Khachanov and Darderi. His dream run in Miami continues, and in the quarterfinals he will challenge 21st seed Lehecka. This strong performance has boosted his live ranking by 48 places to No. 103, bringing the Top 100 threshold within close reach.

Landalus's performance this week in Miami once again proves that the gap between the Challenger and tour levels is smaller than we imagine. "I knew I had to deliver excellent performances here because from the qualifiers onwards, there are many high-level players here. The level at Challengers and among players ranked within the top 100 or 150 is very high, and when they get opportunities at big tournaments, they usually perform well," Landalus said. "For me, everything has gone smoothly this week, and I hope to keep it going. I think the level across all tournament tiers is very high, and we should support these players because together they create brilliant moments like this week in Miami."

He and tennis are destined

Martin Landalus grew up in a family immersed in tennis atmosphere. His father Alejandro is a tennis enthusiast and even participated in the ITF Seniors Tour. Landalus held a racket before he was one year old; his brother and sister also started learning tennis from their father early on. More than ten years later, the youngest of the three siblings, Martin, climbed to become the junior world No. 1 and is now carving out his path in professional tennis.

The Madrid Masters at home ignited Landalus's determination to become a professional tennis player; he has received main-draw wildcards there for the past two years. "I watched many matches there, thinking, 'I want to stand there, I want to play there and win the title.' That has always been a great goal for me."

"I chat with Carlos and Rafa occasionally. Conversations with Rafa have helped me a lot, and I also saw Carlos these days," Landalus said about his compatriot predecessors Nadal and Alcaraz. "They are both very good people, always willing to support and help Spanish tennis grow. They haven't said anything to me during these recent rounds, but I know they are watching, I know they are happy about my results. I hope to continue communicating with them and learn as much as possible."

Nadal (Photo: Li Jianyi)

Speaking about Landalus's breakthrough in Miami, Nadal said: "He has taken an important step forward. I think he has very good shot-making ability. He needs to continue improving in some small details, which will bring significant improvement."

This young player born in Madrid is following the path of predecessors Nadal and Alcaraz, steadily advancing towards the forefront of tennis. The baton of Spanish tennis is being firmly passed to the new generation of players. Landalus carries the glory of his predecessors while also writing his own opening chapter.

(Text, editing / Wang Fei)