“I couldn’t have imagined a better gift” – Qualifier Mensik ready for Fritz battle on 18th birthday
A fan of magic, Jakub Mensik will hope to create some of his own on the Louis Armstrong Stadium as he takes on American No 1 Taylor Fritz under the lights at the US Open
Jakub Mensik at the TK Sparta Prague Open
Image Credit: CTK Photobank / Panoramic
His talent was recognized fairly early, even by his idol Novak Djokovic himself, who handed him a qualifying wild card for the Serbia Open last year. At that time, Jakub Mensik took only three games off Liam Broady, but here we are in New York just 16 months later, where the soon to be 18-year-old Czech is showcasing his talents at the biggest stage.
Having never previously even contested the qualifiers at a Grand Slam, Mensik won five consecutive matches at the US Open – over Fabio Fognini, Leandro Riedl, Zdenek Kolar, Gregoire Barrere and Titouan Drouget – to become the youngest player to reach the third round in New York since Fabrice Santoro in 1990.
On Friday, Mensik will celebrate his 18th birthday by playing the home favourite Taylor Fritz, under the lights on the Louis Armstrong Stadium, the second biggest show court at Flushing Meadows.
“I couldn’t have imagined a better gift,” Mensik told journalists from his home country. “This is a reward for all my hard work. I feel that my level of tennis is increasing.”
Jakub was born in Prostejov, with tennis courts nearby and a sign that they are looking for the next Petra Kvitova or Tomas Berdych. His parents always wanted him to take part in sports, so one day he asked them if he could try tennis – that was the start of what he hopes is going to be a long and fruitful journey, one that has already seen some pain.
I feel that mentally I am tough – when pressure points come, I am able to remain focused and to play at the same level.
Jakub Mensik
Ivo Muller was his childhood coach, the one who instilled the right values and love for tennis in Jakub, before dying of cancer in 2013.
“He was the best man because he could grow the right love of tennis to the small children,” Jakub’s father Michal told the ATP. “And he also taught the parents to be good tennis parents.”
Standing at 195 cm, Mensik describes himself as an “absolutely aggressive baseliner”.
“I have powerful shots, forehand and serve above all. I like to dictate and attack, and to finish points at the net. Also, I feel that mentally I am tough – when pressure points come, I am able to remain focused and to play at the same level.”
It wasn’t always like that, but for four years now, Jakub has been working with Dragan Vujovic, a mental trainer from Serbia.
“When I was younger, I was very hyper on the court, showing more negative energy. We started to improve in that regard both on and off the court. My mental stability has been the key in my run in New York.”
That’s not Jakub’s only connection to Serbia, since last year he was invited by Djokovic to be his sparring partner for a week.
“I wasn’t just with him on the court, but also off the court and talking with him not just about tennis, but all the stuff off the court,” Mensik told the ATP.
“Novak Djokovic told me to embrace the moment and to enjoy every point” – Mensik
Thomas Berdych used to practice in the same club as Mensik, so he learned a lot from his compatriot, but as per his words, Djokovic was always his biggest role model.
“Novak was a huge inspiration for me. Even here in New York, he saw a bit of my match in the qualifiers, so we had a chat in the fitness room. He told me to embrace the moment and to enjoy every point – it turned out to be one of the keys to my victories here.”
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing this year – there were some injury troubles in the first half of the year, but ever since lifting the trophy at Prague Open (€45,730), things have been trending in the right direction for the Czech, guided by his 36-years old tennis coach Tomas Josefus and fitness coach Jan Pospisil.
The biggest difference so far in New York was the maturity Mensik played with, far above his age. Furthermore, he was way smarter about using the power of his shots, which led to fewer errors; he is moving very well considering his stature and feeding off the crowd energy, the type of which he has never experienced before.
Czech journalists describe him as someone with a very determined nature, agent Miroslav Ceronsek told Czech outlet Idnes that he “rarely met someone as focused on success as Jakub”, so all the ingredients are there to make for a future star of the sport.
Outside tennis, Mensik loves basketball and golf and plays drums. Jakub used to perform some magic in the past, he still knows some tricks with the cards, so we’ll see if he’s able to pull another rabbit from his hat to upset Taylor Fritz in the third round.
Either way, Jakub Mensik had made a name for himself at the 2023 US Open.
