By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Eighteen-year-old Czech sensation Jakub Mensik made many followers along with his spirited run to the Doha remaining final week.
One is called Andrey Rublev.
Displaying sturdy aptitude for first-strike tennis and a daring backhand down the road, Mensik knocked off Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, former No. 1 Andy Murray, Rublev, and former Doha champion Gael Monfils earlier than bowing to Karen Khachanov within the Doha remaining on Saturday.
Requested to evaluate the previous junior world No. 2’s sport, former junior world No. 1 Rublev praised Mensik as a participant with a number of strengths.
The 6’4″ Mensik’s serve could be so menacing it is on the prime of Rublev’s weapon want checklist. Rublev joked “Give me his serve, please.”
“I imply, the way in which he serve is unbelievable. Solely with the serve it’s already a brilliant powerful to beat him,” Rublev advised the media in Dubai of Mensik. “Solely due to the serve he could be a good participant.
“On prime of that, for his top, as a result of he’s fairly excessive, he’s shifting very well, I’d say. He is aware of the right way to defends. He is aware of the right way to deliver the balls again. In the identical time additionally he can hit actually arduous. He have this mix that I feel is essential. With this serve… Give me this serve, please.”
Mensik, nicknamed “Menimal” by his buddies, confirmed fierce aggressive want and a knack for pulling out tight matches once more at the moment.
Unleashing a monstrous serve at occasions, Mensik mashed 18 aces in opposition to two double faults rallying by Borna Coric 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) in a Dubai thriller.
It’s Mensik’s fifth win in his final six matches sending him right into a rematch vs. eighth-seeded Davidovich Fokina. The winner might play top-seeded Daniil Medvedev, the defending Dubai champion.
Mensik arrived in Dubai with a robust 78 aces to twenty double faults on the season and that ratio is even sharper when you think about he is accomplished it in opposition to among the sport’s most skilled and correct returners.
Photograph credit score: Hamiltonian/Wikimedia Commons