ATP Tour

Mensik ready for Zverev showdown: 'He was born for these types of matches'

Jakub Mensik has already shown he belongs on tennis’ biggest stages, but the 20-year-old Czech faces perhaps the sternest examination of his young career on Friday at Roland Garros.

In his first major semi-final, Mensik will take on World No. 3 Alexander Zverev for a place in Sunday's championship match in Paris. It is the biggest occasion of the Czech's career, but according to coach Tomas Josefus, it is exactly the type of challenge his player embraces.

“I think Jakub is a player that was born for these types of matches, against big players in big stadiums,” Josefus told ATPTour.com. “He loves big challenges and he has shown many times in the past that he's able to play very well against these top guys. So I'm hoping for a good quality match and he will be ready against Sascha tomorrow.”

The evidence to support that belief is already substantial. Last year, Mensik stunned Novak Djokovic to capture his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami, before adding another statement result earlier this season when he defeated then-World No. 2 Jannik Sinner in Doha.

Now standing across the net will be Zverev, a three-time major finalist who is once again pursuing the first Grand Slam title of his career. The second seed may view this fortnight as one of his best opportunities yet after the early exits of both Sinner and Djokovic, but Mensik arrives with fresh experience after the pair met in Madrid just five weeks ago.

“Jakub played against Sascha in Madrid on the same surface, but also in Madrid the clay is slightly faster and it’s very similar to Roland Garros,” Josefus said of Mensik’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Zverev. “They are very similar conditions. They also played on the centre court, so very similar conditions as here on Chatrier. It’s almost like it’s indoors.

“We definitely have some takeaways from this match and for Jakub, it’s a great experience and I believe that he learned his lesson. He was a break up in the third set and lost the match, so it’s a good lesson for Jakub.”

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Although it ended in defeat, that Madrid encounter offered a glimpse into just how narrow the gap is between the two players. The challenge now is applying those lessons on the sport’s biggest clay-court stage, where margins are often decided by execution rather than invention.

Josefus believes success will come not from a single tactical surprise, but from delivering the fundamentals at the highest possible level against one of the most complete players in the game.

“The strategy, especially against these types of players, is complex. Of course it's serve, return, serve plus one, return plus one, because 65, 70 per cent of all rallies are short ones,” Josefus explained. “Sascha stays very far back on return, so we have to be ready for a lot of rallies that are five or more shots. But the strategy is complex… Sascha is the World No. 3, so this is not just about secret information, but about many, many things.”

Throughout this fortnight in Paris, and indeed throughout much of his rise on Tour, Mensik has displayed a maturity beyond his years in pressure situations. That composure was perhaps most evident in the quarter-finals, where he produced one of the most complete performances to defeat fellow rising star Joao Fonseca in straight sets.

“Jakub has been working with a mental coach and it’s definitely a big part of the game,” Josefus said. “It's not only about the strategy, it's not only about technique or fitness, but the mental part, it's super, super important as well. So Jakub is working on the mental side of things very intensely.

“It helped him against Joao, who is a great player. He was able to beat Novak here, Casper Ruud, with great results. And he played on the same court with the crowds, a lot of Brazilians. He had big support. But again, Jakub, he was calm and he was able to finish in three sets so that’s perfect for him.”

As if underlining the importance of that preparation, Mensik’s mental coach Dragan Vujovic arrived in Paris on the eve of the semi-final in Paris. With the biggest match of the Czech's career approaching, every detail is being carefully considered by a team determined to leave nothing to chance.

“Jakub’s mental coach just arrived in Paris, so he will be speaking on the mental side of things,” Josefus said. “But it’s complex and that's my job: I'm trying to put all the small pieces of the puzzle together.”

One of the most significant pieces of that puzzle arrived during the second round, when Mensik survived a gruelling four-hour, 41-minute battle against Mariano Navone before collapsing with cramp and requiring assistance to leave the court.

“It was a very physical match with a lot of ups and downs and especially in the fifth set because Jakub started to cramp,” Josefus explained. “It was a combination of many things. Extreme heat, very physical match, longer rallies… So I'm super happy that Jakub survived this match and was able to recover well for the next match against Alex de Minaur and had the chance to continue in the tournament.”

Rather than derailing his campaign, however, the match became a springboard. Josefus, fitness coach Jan Pospisil and physio Sasa Jezdic helped guide Mensik through the recovery process, and the Czech responded with victories over World No. 7 Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev before delivering arguably his finest performance of the fortnight against Fonseca.

Against the Brazilian, Mensik's willingness to move forward and finish points at the net proved decisive, with the Czech winning 74 per cent (38/51) of points when he advanced forward, according to Infosys Stats. It was an approach that reflected both tactical clarity and a growing confidence in his all-court game.

“Jakub, he's a relatively tall guy and approaching is a super important part of tennis because during baseline play it's basically a 50-50 battle. But if you are aggressive, you can finish the points,” Josefus said. “Jakub was taking his time away. So definitely it was part of the strategy and I am super proud and very happy that it worked.

“Against Joao, Jakub was losing some baseline battles, but he was better at the net, and because he was doing his part of the strategy more often than Joao, he was the winner at the end of the day.”

The occasion awaiting Mensik on Friday is unlike anything he has previously experienced, yet inside the camp there is a determination not to treat it any differently from any other match. The routines that have helped carry him from promising prospect to major semi-finalist remain unchanged, with Josefus adamant that the process must remain the priority.

“For Jakub and for me as a coach it’s the first semi-final of a Grand Slam,” Josefus said. “Of course it's a very good result for Jakub and a very positive two tournament weeks. But, in terms of preparation, we are doing everything in the same way. Jakub loves routines, so it doesn't matter for him if it's first round or semi final, or even final. We are trying to stay focused on the process and this is the best thing we can do.”

Should Mensik continue his remarkable run and go on to lift the trophy in Paris, he would break into the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time. Those rewards, however, remain firmly in the distance, with the Czech's immediate focus fixed on the challenge standing across the net.

Before thinking about a first major final or the possibility of lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires, Mensik must first try to become the latest player to halt Zverev's pursuit of a maiden major crown. If Josefus is correct, there may be no stage on which his young charge would rather attempt it.