Mensik ends Fonseca’s run after an immense battle on Chatrier, into his first Grand Slam semi-final
Jakub Mensik (No 26), 20, beat 19-year-old João Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(3) in 2h 44min on Court Philippe-Chatrier to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final. Alexander Zverev, the second seed, awaits on Friday.
Jakub Mensik, Roland-Garros 2026 | © M. Baucher / PsNewz
Jakub Mensik is the last of the young men left in Alexander Zverev’s half of the men’s draw. Mensik, the 20-year-old Czech 26th seed, beat 19-year-old Brazilian 28th seed João Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(3) in two hours and 44 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Tuesday evening to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, and to become the youngest Czech man to reach a major semi-final since Ivan Lendl in 1980, his 23rd win of the 2026 season.
The contest was a meeting of two of the three teenagers and 20-year-olds who had cleared the bottom half of the men’s draw. Fonseca had beaten Novak Djoković in the third round and Casper Ruud in the fourth. Mensik had survived a four-hour-and-41-minute fifth-set battle against Mariano Navone, recovered from a 6-0 first set against Alex de Minaur, and outlasted Andrey Rublev across five sets in the round of 16.
Mensik : “super happy I’m the one who came back”
By Tuesday evening, neither had any fresh legs left to play with. But Mensik had the steadier serve and the ability to find his best tennis when it mattered most. That was the difference in a contest of stunning quality, both players painting the lines through three sets of full-power tennis.
“We both started a little bit nervous, and then at the end of the match there were some incredible points”, Mensik said on court. “I’m super happy I’m the one who came back. In the third set I lost a couple of breaks, so I’m happy I managed to stay focused, stay in the match, and keep fighting till the end.”
The first set was decided by a single break at 3-2, Mensik holding the rest of his service games to 30 across an opening set in which he won 83 per cent of his first-serve points (6-4). The second followed the same template, with Mensik breaking twice – at 1-1 and 3-2 – to lead 5-2, holding his way to 5-3, and closing it out after Fonseca had saved several set points serving to stay in the set (6-3).
“João is one of the greatest [players] on tour, incredible from the baseline”, Mensik added. “So I tried to stay really focused on my serve and on the return. From the baseline it wasn’t about who hits harder, it was about opening the court, coming forward, often to the net, and [mixing] it up.”
Unbelievable game at 6-5
The third was the contest. Fonseca broke Mensik’s opening service game to lead 2-0; Mensik broke back at 2-2; Mensik was broken again at 3-3 and Fonseca pushed to 5-3, then served at 5-4 for the set. Mensik broke for 5-5, held under pressure for 6-5, and then served what should have been the closer with six match points across a marathon deuce sequence on Fonseca’s serve.
This 11th game of the third set ran the kind of length that defines a great Grand Slam evening. Mensik held these match points across a marathon deuce sequence. The Brazilian saved every one. On the first, at 15-40, a Fonseca second serve landed on the outside line, close to a double fault. On the second, also at 15-40, an apparently easy Mensik smash sailed into the alley. The third went to a Fonseca service winner. The fourth, to a serve and volley. The fifth, to a winning cross-court forehand. The sixth, to a forehand winner on a serve-plus-one.
At the end, the last game and the tiebreak, it was one of my best performances so far.
Fonseca held to force the tie-break. Mensik, having handed his opponent six chances to take the contest to a fourth set, ran the breaker 7-3 from there. Total points across the set finished 56-55. The closing margin of the contest, in the end, was that small. “At the end, the last game and the tiebreak, it was one of my best performances so far, Mensik said. It was pretty tough.”
Mensik will face second seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-final on Friday – the German having beaten Spanish 19-year-old Rafael Jodar in straight sets earlier in the day. Two wins now stand between the 20-year-old Czech and a maiden Grand Slam title in a draw that has emptied of almost every player who began the tournament above him in the rankings.
