#NextGenATP Mensik upsets Foki, sets Murray clash in Doha

The rapid rise of Jakub Mensik continued Tuesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. In just his eighth tour-level match, the 18-year-old notched his maiden victory against a Top 30 opponent by defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(3), 6-4 at the hard-court ATP 250.

Mensik twice rallied from a break down en route to the opening set and then clinched a decisive break in the first game of the second before completing a 93-minute triumph. The Czech’s booming serve played a major role in his win, and he finished the match having won 70 per cent (26/37) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I just tried to play my best,” said the World No. 116 Mensik, who is competing in the main draw in Doha thanks to a new benefit for #NextGenATP talents who reach the Top 250 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. “It’s a crazy opportunity to play a 250 here in Doha, so I’m super happy that I reached the second round and I will do my best to show this performance in the second round also.”

Jakub Mensik, take a bow!!! 🤯@QatarTennis | #QatarExxonMobilOpen pic.twitter.com/Hr0ejSCSkR

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 20, 2024

Mensik is the youngest player in the Top 200 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He reached the third round at last year’s US Open, his first tour-level event, and defeated Denis Shapovalov as a qualifier on his Australian Open debut last month. Mensik has achieved all this while continuing his high school studies.

“I think I will do language courses [tonight] because I am going to graduate this year,” said Mensik, when asked how he would celebrate his victory. “Hopefully after summer I will focus 100 per cent on just tennis.”

Mensik's next opponent in Qatar will be Andy Murray, after the former World No. 1 notched his first win of the 2024 season with a 6-1, 7-6(5) triumph against Alexandre Muller.

The 2008 and 2009 Doha champion Murray was consistently aggressive in return games and converted three of five break points he earned against the World No. 75 Muller to improve to 25-5 in Doha, where he also reached the championship match in 2007, 2017 and 2023. The Briton was happy to snap his six-match losing streak.

“Obviously the past few months have been really tough on the court for me,” said Murray in his on-court interview. “I’ve not won many matches and lost a lot of close ones as well and it was getting tight at the end there as well, so obviously delighted to get through.

“Just proud that I managed to get through the match, get another win under my belt, and I’m happy for my team who have been working extremely hard with me in trying to find solutions to get me through this difficult moment. Hopefully this is the start of a better run.”

Murray acknowledged he was expecting a tough battle in a generational matchup with Mensik in the second round.

“I saw a little bit of his match today,” said the 46-time tour-level titlist. “He’s obviously a very promising young player with a huge serve. Moves well for a big guy, and he’s new on the Tour so every tournament, every match will be a learning experience and a great opportunity for him to show his stuff. I’ll need to be ready for that.”

Christopher O’Connell also upset a seeded opponent early on Tuesday in Doha. The Australian overcame sixth seed Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-4 to increase his Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against the German to 2-0. O’Connell’s second-round opponent will be Emil Ruusuvuori after the Finn edged qualifier Giulio Zeppieri 7-6(2), 7-5.

In the final match of the day, Gael Monfils capped a hat-trick of French victories in Doha with a 6-1, 7-6(9) win against Botic van de Zandschulp. The 2018 champion Monfils saved nine set points in the second set before sealing a one-hour, 43-minute win. He will next face Zhang Zhizhen.

Monfils’ countrymen Richard Gasquet and Hugo Grenier earlier booked their second-round spots. The 2013 titlist Gasquet beat Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 6-4 to advance to face top seed Andrey Rublev, while qualifier Grenier beat Maximilian Marterer 7-6(5), 7-5 to set a clash with Alexei Popyrin.