Czech 19-year-old rising star Jakub Mensik overcame world number 6 Casper Ruud 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 after 2 hours and 45 minutes to reach the third round at the Australian Open for the first time.
Mensik fired 62 winners to Ruud’s 29 and broke Ruud’s serve five times to improve to 5-3 against top ten opponents.
Mensik played at the Next Gen ATP Finals and reached the quarter finals in Auckland and Brisbane. The world number 48 reached the third round at the US Open in 2023 and 2024.
Mensik follows in the footsteps of another Next Gen player Joao Fonseca, who beat Andrey Rublev in the first round.
Ruud saved four break points to hold serve for 2-1 in the third game. Mensik reeled off five consecutive games with two breaks to win the first set 6-2.
Ruud broke serve in the sixth game before saving two break points in the seventh game. The Norwegian player served out the second set at 15.
Mensik broke twice in the second and sixth games to win the third set 6-1. The Czech player broke serve in the seventh game and sealed the win on her first match point. “I feel great. It was a really tough match. Casper was playing really great and it was tough from the start. I am happy with my performances so far. I am happy I showed my best level on a big court. It’s great that there is new blood always. We can see that tennis is moving on. We can see different or new names in the tournaments. For the fans, for tennis, for everything. It’s really good. New blood is coming”, said Mensik.
