Jakub Mensik overcame wild card Henry Bernet 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 in 2 and a half hours after missing the first match point to reach the second round at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
Mensik won 94% of his first serve points and hit 9 of his 18 aces in the second set. The Czech player won 82% of his first serve points.
Bernet was aiming to become the youngest Swiss match winner in Basel since 10-title Swiss Open champion Roger Federer. Bernet won the Australian Open boys title and reached the number 1 spot in the junior category.
There were no breaks for either players in both sets, which were decided by tie-breaks. Mensik earned three mini-breaks to win the first tie-break 7-1. Bernet earned two mini-breaks to take a 5-2 lead in the tie-break of the second set. Mensik pulled back both mini-breaks to draw level to 5-5. Bernet saved a match point at 6-5 before winning four of his next five points to seal the tie-break 9-7.
Mensik earned an early break in the second game of the third set and held serve at 30 to open up a 3-0 lead.
The Czech player held on serve and closed out a hard-fought win on his first match point.
Mensik will face either defending champion Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard or 2024 Next Gen Finals champion Joao Fonseca.
“It was a really, really tough night. I’ve been in his position two years ago, and I know how it feels to be hungry and fight for every point, and I felt it from him today. He has such a huge game, a very aggressive style. One of his great things is his mental strength”, said Mensik.
Jenson Brooksby moved past Alexandre Muller 6-4 6-3 in 67 minutes.
Jaume Munar cruised past Swiss qualifier Remy Bertola 6-2 6-4 and will face either last year’s finalist Ben Shelton or Kamil Majchrzak.
