Wow! Only 17 years old Mensik in his Grand Slam debut knocked out the 59th ranked player at the US Open

It is a well-known fact that Jakub Menšík has a great tennis future ahead of him. But that he would start to shine so soon was probably not expected. On his Grand Slam debut, he knocked out the 59th player on the ATP rankings, Grégoire Barrére.

Jakub Mensik first came to prominence last winter at the Junior Australian Open. Then he reached the final, where he tried to finish the match despite huge cramps. Novak Djokovic noticed his great will and fighting spirit and invited him to Belgrade.

A year and a half later, at the age of 17, Mensik made his Grand Slam debut. First, he sensationally made it through the qualifying round, knocking out former top 10 player Fabio Fognini, Leandro Riedi and experienced compatriot Zdenek Kolar.

In the first round he met the 59th ranked player Grégoire Barrére. And the Prostejov native’s fairy tale didn’t end there either. Menšík won the first set 6:4, lost the second set 4:6, but in the third set he managed a crucial tiebreak and finished the fourth set calmly 6:2.

After Shang Juncheng, he became only the second player of the class of 2005 to win a Grand Slam match.

In the next round, Mensik will face either the tournament’s No. 18, Italian Lorenzo Musetti, or Frenchman Titouan Droguet. And how did the other Czechs fare on the first day of the last Grand Slam of the season?

Karolína Muchová quickly dispatched Storm Hunter 6:4, 6:0. Petra Kvitová defeated Cristina Bucsa of Spain 6:1 and 7:6 (7:5), while young Linda Fruhvirtová did not play well against the home team’s Danielle Collins – 2:6 and 0:6. Kateřina Siniaková is also saying goodbye to the tournament after losing to Russia’s Anna Kalinska 4:6 and 2:6.

In the men’s section, Jiri Vesely advanced after defeating Enzo Couacaud 5:7, 6:3, 6:2, 3:6, 6:4. On the other hand, the Czech number one Jiri Lehečka was not able to beat the Russian Aslan Karavec, whom he lost 3:6, 3:6 and 3:6.

Source: US Open