Jakub Mensik advanced to the third round of the Australian Open by beating world No. 6 Casper Ruud 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday.
It was the second instance in the first four days of the tournament in which a teenager defeated a top-10 opponent. In the first round on Tuesday, 18-year-old Brazilian and fellow NextGen ATP Finals star Joao Fonseca knocked off world No. 9 Andrey Rublev 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-6(5). Mensik, 19, and Fonseca are the first two teens to beat top-10 players at the same Grand Slam since Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray at Wimbledon in 2006.
“All the young players who are playing here are trying their best to reach the same level, like Jannik and Carlos were a few years ago,” Mensik commented. “We can approach it the same and try to reach the same level, compete against them. It’s great that there is a new blood always. We can see that tennis is moving on; we can see different or new names on the tournaments. For the fans, for the tennis, for everything, it’s really great.
“The timing of Next Gen (in mid-December) helped us a lot. All of us played really great matches. Also in the tournaments before [the Australian Open], we were doing really well. That’s the most important thing at the beginning of the season to have the match count and to come to the Grand Slam with matches played.”
That was certainly the case for Fonseca, who arrived in Melbourne on a 13-match winning streak–including a title at the NextGen, where his match against Mensik went to five consecutive tiebreakers. Fonseca is now 9-0 this season and has not dropped a single set.
“Fonseca’s level for 18 let alone any age is simply off the charts,” commentator Brad Gilbert said after watching Fonseca beat Rublev. “His easy power and composure [thumbs up emoji]. Right now his level is easily top 10. I said last month (he) would finish (the season) top 25. Now (I’m) seeing year-end championships.”
As Gilbert’s words indicate, the hype train for Fonseca is off the charts. Maybe it should be for Mensik, as well.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.