Czech rising star Jakub Mensik delivered a superb performance to defeat Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca and book his place in the French Open semi-finals on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old overcame Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier to continue the best Grand Slam run of his career.
Mensik, ranked world No. 27, will face second seed and tournament favourite Alexander Zverev on Friday for a place in the final.
“I’m excited for the challenge,” Mensik said after the match.
The victory makes him the youngest Czech man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final and the first from his country to make the last four of a major since Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2017.
“It was one of my best performances so far,” Mensik said. “I knew it was going to be a tough one. At the end of the match, there were some incredible shots.
“The last 20 or 30 minutes were just insane. The level from both of us was really high.”
The contest was the youngest men’s quarter-final at Roland Garros since 2006, when a 20-year-old Rafael Nadal defeated 19-year-old Novak Djokovic.
Fonseca arrived in the quarter-finals brimming with confidence after a breakthrough run that included a third-round victory over Djokovic and a win against two-time runner-up Casper Ruud to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
However, Mensik, whose previous best major result was a fourth-round appearance at this year’s Australian Open, produced a composed display to halt the Brazilian’s impressive campaign.
The Czech secured the opening set with a decisive break in the fifth game and repeated the feat in the second set before earning another break to move within one set of victory.
Fonseca responded strongly in the third set, breaking early and opening up a 5-3 lead. But Mensik fought back, saving a set point and levelling the score before the set headed into a tie-break.
The Brazilian showed remarkable resilience by saving six match points to force the tie-break, but Mensik eventually sealed victory on his seventh opportunity, ending a gripping contest and securing a maiden Grand Slam semi-final berth.
The Czech’s run comes after a difficult start to the season, having withdrawn from a scheduled clash with Djokovic at the Australian Open due to an abdominal injury before seeing his clay-court preparations disrupted by a toe infection and illness.
“Before Roland Garros, I was finally healthy,” Mensik said. “I was well prepared, without any injury, playing pain-free, and as the tournament goes on, I’m playing better and better.”
AFP
