Despite visible scares, Jakub Mensik declares himself healthy

Jakub Mensik’s run to a first Grand Slam semi-final has been built, he says, on a body that is at last cooperating, even if it gave one last twinge in the interview room.

Speaking after beating João Fonseca, the 20-year-old Czech broke off briefly mid-answer, appearing to feel a cramp, before waving it away: “Oh, but I’m fine, sorry.” It was a fitting footnote to a fortnight in which his physical condition has been the running subplot.

Mensik had a scare during the match itself, feeling discomfort in his left leg late in the second set that disrupted his serve. “I was afraid what it was,” he said. “Fortunately it was just a tight muscle.” The pain faded as the deciding set wore on, and he was able, in his words, to lock back in.

The relief is cumulative. Mensik’s clay season was derailed by illness – an infection in his toe before Monte-Carlo, then a virus that cost him a further fortnight – leaving him to reach Madrid on a few days’ practice and no matches. By Paris, that was behind him. “Before Roland-Garros I was finally healthy,” he said. “I was super happy I could come good prepared, without any injury, playing pain-free.”

Playing free, period.