When Spaniard Jaume Munar attained a No. 52 ranking in 2019, he was pleased but not satisfied.
This season, the right-handed grinder finally earned his coveted Top 50 ranking by advancing to his first Grand Slam third round at Wimbledon. He has already one-upped that result with an upcoming fourth-round appearance at the 2025 US Open, which will propel him even higher.
“[A Top 50 ranking] was one thing I wanted to achieve. I was looking forward to that,” said 28-year-old Munar, lamenting how he has been “struggling a lot of the years at 70, 60.”
Beating the best
A former world No. 3 junior, Munar turned pro in 2014 and advanced to the semifinals at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2018. He has earned two career Top 5 wins, defeating No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the second round at 2019 Marrakech and No. 3 Casper Ruud in the first round at 2022 Tokyo.
In 2021, Munar upset Carlos Alcaraz before falling to another fellow Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta, in his first ATP Tour final at Marbella. Munar qualified for four ATP Masters 1000 events and earned 19 wins to finish 2022. He owns a 141-72 Challenger record and is 10-8 in finals, including a win for most recent clay-court title at 2024 Bad Waltersdorf.
‘Calm’ progress to best major result
Munar has advanced to the second week of the 2025 US Open on the strength of wins over Jaime Faria, No. 31 seed Gabriel Diallo and Zizou Bergs.
“I think I stayed calm,” said Munar following his straight-set victory over Bergs. “It was a tricky match because [it was for] both of us an opportunity, and I knew that before the match so I was quite prepared. I think he didn’t play the best tennis he has, but I’ve been there, I’ve been doing my thing and I’m so happy to be through.”
Musetti matchup in Round 4
Awaiting Munar in the fourth round is Italian Lorenzo Musetti. Although Musetti is the No. 10 seed, Munar holds a 2-1 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series – a record he is looking to extend.
“Of course, I’m looking for more and more and more,” Munar said.
