Subsequent Gen
Journey To Jeddah: Prime 50 Mensik leads ‘new blood’
Czech reached Doha closing at begin of 2024
December 16, 2024
ATP Tour
Jakub Mensik is ready to make his debut in Jeddah.
By Arthur Kapetanakis
Czech star Jakub Mensik achieved the largest purpose of his 2024 season by qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the primary time. Now the 19-year-old desires the trophy in Jeddah.
Mensik reached his first ATP Tour closing in February on the age of 18, beating Andy Murray, Andrey Rublev and Gael Monfils to advance to the title match in Doha. That run made him the primary participant born in 2005 or later to achieve a tour-level closing. Whereas he was edged by Karen Khachanov within the championship match, his breakout week earned him a debut within the Prime 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings.
“That was superb. It is a actually good feeling that on this younger age I can compete with one of the best gamers,” he mentioned in filming for the ATP Tour’s Journey to Jeddah collection, “All these small particulars, all these small issues and experiences are pushing me larger in my profession.”
Since that week, Mensik has competed solely at tour-level. He’ll enter Jeddah contained in the Prime 50 behind latest quarter-final runs on the Rolex Shanghai Masters — the place he took a set off Novak Djokovic — and Vienna.
The large levels of the ATP Tour are a great distance from the neighbourhood courts in entrance of his childhood dwelling in of Prostejov, Czechia, the place Mensik discovered the sport from the age of 4. He was hooked from the start, his love of the sport deepened by his apparent expertise.
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Prostejov is legendary for tennis, his father Michal defined, dwelling to considered one of three nationwide tennis facilities in Czechia. The small city now has an excellent greater tennis footprint due to Mensik’s rise — however the native hero is much from happy.
“Tennis is enhancing yearly, each season, so it is crucial to attempt to be higher than the era earlier than us,” Mensik mentioned, noting his admiration for previous Subsequent Gen ATP Finals champs like Stefanos Tsitsipas (2018), Jannik Sinner (2019), Carlos Alcaraz (2021).
“Tennis followers like new blood,” he added. “They need to know who’s coming subsequent.”
An all-court participant with an enormous serve, the Czech is raring to make his personal mark on the very prime of the ATP Tour. He sees Jeddah as the proper stepping stone.
“It is actually nice that the ATP provides the younger gamers the chance to see the way it works at [one of] essentially the most stunning ATP occasions and tournaments on tour,” he mentioned. “We’ll see, however I need to win additionally, after all.”
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