Rafael Jodar, 19, to face oldest first-time ATP finalist Marco Trungelliti for Marrakech title

Talk about a cool contrast in career trajectories.

That’s what Sunday’s Grand Prix Hassan II final is set to serve up in Marrakech with its pair of first-time ATP finalists.

On one side is 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, who only made his tour-level debut at this year’s Australian Open and had never contested an ATP clay-court tournament until this week.

On the other end stands 36-year-old Marco Trungelliti, now the oldest maiden finalist in ATP Tour history after making his way through qualifying.

Both competitors came through straight-set semifinals on Saturday. Jodar dispatched Camilo Ugo Carabelli with a 6-2, 6-1 victory, breaking the Argentine four times in the swift 64-minute encounter. He is the second player born in 2006 or later to make a tour-level final, after Joao Fonseca.

“I’m very happy to be in the final here in Marrakech. It’s been a great week,” Jodar said during an on-court interview. “There’s still one more match, so I have to be ready for it. It’s going to be a tough one.”

Trungelliti ousted top-seeded defending champion Luciano Darderi, 6-4, 7-6 (2), to record his second career Top 20 win and first since 2016 Roland Garros. Having turned pro in 2008, this week’s run is set to vault the current world No. 117 into the Top 100 for the first time in his career come Monday, the oldest man to make his debut inside the elite group since 45-year-old Torben Ulrich in 1973.

“Of course, I believed it. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. Otherwise it wouldn’t be possible,” he said afterwards. “And also, I worked a lot. Me, my team, my wife and my kid, we all believed in breaking the record. That’s exactly what we have done.”

Darderi was tied with Francisco Cerundolo with the most clay-court wins since the start of the 2024 season coming into their contest.