Next Gen Czech player Jakub Mensik upset world number 5 Andrey Rublev 6-4 7-6 (8-6) to reach his first his ATP Tour semifinal at the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open. Mesnik becomes the youngest player to beat a top-5 player since Carlos Alcaraz defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2021 US Open.
Mensik was playing in his first ATP Tour quarter final after beating world number 1 and two-time Wimbledon and Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray in the second round in the longest match in tournament history.
Rublev was not able to convert any of his six break points.
Mensik converted his second break point in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead in the first set and served out the win with a hold at 15.
Both players went on serve en route to the tie-break. Rublev went up a mini-break twice in the tie-break, but Mensik pulled back on serve both times to draw level to 5-5. Mensik earned his third mini-break at 7-6, when Rublev netted a mid-court forehand. Mensik closed out the match on the next point to set up a semifinal match against Gael Monfils.
“It’s just been an incredible week. From the beginning I played very well and I knew I could play with the big players. It’s an amazing feeling to reach the semifinals after beating those goo players, but the job is not done yet. Hopefully I can play like this in the semifinals tomorrow an dgo on to make the final”, said Mensik.
Several Next Gen players performed very well this week on the ATP Tour. Alex Michelsen beat Alex De Minaur to reach the quarter final in Los Cabos. Seventeen-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca upset Arthur Fils to become the first player born in 2006 to win an ATP Tour match.
Gael Monfils beat Ugo Humbert 6-2 6-4 in an all-French clash to become the oldest semifinalist in tournament history. Monfils won the title in his previous appearance at the Doha tournament. The match started with four breaks in the first five games, as Monfils opened up a 4-1 lead. Monfils sealed the first set on his second set point in in the eighth game. Monfils started the second set with a break in the first game of the second game. Humbert broke back in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Monfils broke for the second time in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead and sealed the win on his first match point.
Alexei Popyrin beat Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-4 to reach the third tour-level in his career and his first in the 2024 season. Popyrin is aiming to win the second title of his career after winning in Umag last July.
Popyrin broke serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. The Australian player held on his next service games and served out the first set on his third set point. Popyrin converted his fifth break point in the first game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead. The Australian player went up a double break in the seventh game to take a 5-2 lead. Bublik pulled one break back in the eighth game.
Karen Khachanov was leading 3-0 in the first set as Emil Ruusuvuori was forced to withdraw from the match due to a lower back injury.
