Mensik recovers a two-set lead given back to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final
Jakub Mensik (No 26), 20, beat Andrey Rublev (No 11) 6-3, 7-6(6), 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 in 3h 48min on Court Philippe-Chatrier – into his first Grand Slam quarter-final. Two sets up, two sets all, then the fifth set won on one break at 4-3 and a match-point ace, his 13th of the night.
Jakub Mensik, Roland-Garros 2026 | © M. Baucher / PsNewz
Jakub Mensik, the 20-year-old Czech 26th seed, came through Russian 11th seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(6), 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 in three hours and 48 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday evening, reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, on a night when he led two sets to love, surrendered both the lead and the match’s apparent control, and then found his serve again in the deciding set.
With this result, Mensik has become just the second Czech player to reach a men’s singles quarter-final at a Grand Slam before the age of 21, after Ivan Lendl.
The first two sets had run his way without alarm. Mensik broke once in the opening set to take it 6-3, and held twice from break-point pressure in the second to push it to a tie-break he ran 8-6. The third and fourth sets were a different matter. His first-serve percentage dropped sharply, he was broken four times across the two sets, and Rublev, who has not won a Roland-Garros fourth round since 2022, found the version of his game that produces big tennis on the biggest points.
The more aggressive player
The Russian took the third 6-4 and the fourth 6-2 against a Mensik who, watching from the bench between sets, looked uncertain whether he had the legs to come back.
He did. The fifth set told the story under the broader scoreline. Mensik broke Rublev at 4-3 – the only break of the set – and served for the match at 5-3. He faced an immediate break-back point, saved it with an unreturned serve, and closed out the contest with his 13th ace of the match.
The numbers were closer than the result suggested. Rublev won only five points fewer than Mensik across the four hours. The break-point efficiency told the rest of the story: Rublev converted five of 15 chances; Mensik four of 18. The more aggressive player, by his own count, finished with 69 winners to 65 unforced errors.
second five-sets match
It is Mensik’s second five-set match in four rounds at this Roland-Garros. He survived a four-hour-and-41-minute fifth-set tie-break against Mariano Navone in the second round, ans recovered from a 6-0 first-set bagel against eighth seed Alex de Minaur in the third.
Mensik will face the winner of Norwegian 15th seed Casper Ruud against Brazilian João Fonseca – the teenager who beat Novak Djokovic in five sets in the third round – in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Roland-Garros Men’s Singles – 4th Round
JM.Cerundolo vs M.Berrettini – Monday
F.Tiafoe (19) vs M.Arnaldi – Monday
F.Auger-Aliassime (4) vs A.Tabilo – Monday
F.Cobolli (10) vs Z.Svajda – Monday
J.Mensik (26) – A.Rublev (11): 6-3, 7⁸-6⁶, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3
C.Ruud (15) vs J.Fonseca (28) – Monday
R.Jodar (27) – P.Carreno Busta: 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
A.Zverev (2) – J.De Jong: 7⁷-6³, 6-4, 6-1
