Jabuk Mensik (photo Getty Images)
While the world of racket is divided between the forceful return of Nadal and the unstoppable rise of Sinner, shut up Jakub Mensik is impressing on the red of Madrid. On Saturday, the 18-year-old from Prostějov eliminated Grigor Dimitrov with a sumptuous performance, winning in three sets, showing a very underestimated sample of quality and power. It is by no means a trivial success, which has gone too far into the background at a global media level. In fact, Dimitrov is experiencing a sort of second youth: for months he has been playing fabulous tennis, truly incisive and powerful, as has happened to him in a few phases of his long career. This is demonstrated by his return to the top 10 and the final in the recent Miami tournament, where he got rid of tough clients like Hurkacz, Alcaraz and Zverev before being tamed by the super powers of the 2024 Sinner.
Mensik defeated Dimitrov showing terribly powerful and solid tennis on the court, but also deep for solutions. In the first set he was almost unplayable in his service shifts: supported by a fast and precise ball, he took the court and closed the rallies in three moves. Many of his backhand accelerations left the Bulgarian – in excellent physical condition – literally stunned. With his forehand he can smash the ball, but the shot is a less flexible and sensitive thread, sometimes it slips away a little. His technical approach is clean, a classic son of the exceptional Czech school, his statuesque physique allows him to push with enormous power and cover the field with good effectiveness. He stands out for his supports, a truly formidable dynamic balance, like almost all the players from his country, “cousins” of Berdych and his associates. When you have a great physique and a good predisposition for tennis, if you are born in the Czech Republic under their wise coaches, you become a quality tennis player, there is no other solution.
Mensik’s victory is very significant: it is the second obtained in the year against a top 10 player, a very notable result for a class of 2005, which places it among the strongest in terms of precocity. But it’s the perspective that intrigues. Jakub is still very young but he is already 69th in the world (65th in the Live rankings) with enormous room for growth. With experience he will be able to improve the management of some phases of the game – when he doesn’t get the first serve he tends to speed up the attack a bit – and his tennis seems good for all seasons, in particular the surfaces hard where he can find perfect support and unleash great speed while leaning very well with his feet on the ground. Furthermore, he thrives in his rhythm, and when he finds the perfect timing for the impact he has a hand and could hit the coin to the other side of the court.
The aspect that impressed me most in yesterday’s victory vs. Dimitrov was able to manage the Bulgarian’s variations. Grigor doesn’t disdain clay at all, he loves to cut the ball, vary angles and rhythms with different rotations. Since Mensik at times took him in stride, Dimitrov tried, confusing game plans to break the dominance and confidence in the young rival’s push. He succeeded, fighting (and winning) the second set after being dominated in the first set. Mensik’s reaction to the lost second set and the change in direction of the match was fabulous. He didn’t get upset, but he was very clear: to find the best feeling at impact he moved his shooting position back slightly to find more time to shoot hard and regain command of the game. As soon as he succeeded, he took a step closer to the baseline to command the exchange at great speed. He went down, was clear, raised the level and won. He’s the stuff of a great player. Resuming a match that had slipped from your hands against such an experienced and fit tennis player like Dimitrov was a real feat.
“I’m speechless,” said Mensik after the success, one of the best of his career. It was he who left those who watched him speechless… The boy really has great qualities. Save the name…
Marco Mazzoni
