By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Eighteen-year-old Czech sensation Jakub Mensik made many fans with his spirited run to the Doha final last week.
One is named Andrey Rublev.
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Showing strong flair for first-strike tennis and a bold backhand down the line, Mensik knocked off Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, former No. 1 Andy Murray, Rublev, and former Doha champion Gael Monfils before bowing to Karen Khachanov in the Doha final on Saturday.
Asked to assess the former junior world No. 2's game, former junior world No. 1 Rublev praised Mensik as a player with several strengths.
The 6'4" Mensik's serve can be so menacing it's at the top of Rublev's weapon wish list. Rublev joked "Give me his serve, please."
"I mean, the way he serve is incredible. Only with the serve it’s already a super tough to beat him," Rublev told the media in Dubai of Mensik. "Only because of the serve he can be a good player.
"On top of that, for his height, because he’s quite high, he’s moving really well, I would say. He knows how to defends. He knows how to bring the balls back. In the same time also he can hit really hard. He have this combination that I think is important. With this serve… Give me this serve, please."
Mensik, nicknamed "Menimal" by his friends, showed fierce competitive desire and a knack for pulling out tight matches again today.
Unleashing a monstrous serve at times, Mensik mashed 18 aces against two double faults rallying by Borna Coric 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) in a Dubai thriller.
It is Mensik's fifth win in his last six matches sending him into a rematch vs. eighth-seeded Davidovich Fokina. The winner could play top-seeded Daniil Medvedev, the defending Dubai champion.
Mensik arrived in Dubai with a strong 78 aces to 20 double faults on the season and that ratio is even sharper when you consider he's done it against some of the game's most experienced and accurate returners.
Photo credit: Hamiltonian/Wikimedia Commons