Czech teenager Jakub Mensik stunned top seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets at the Qatar Open to reach his maiden ATP semi-final and guarantee a spot in the world’s top 100 for the first time.
The 18-year-old came through 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) against the fifth-ranked Rublev, a day after defeating three-time Grand Slam title winner Andy Murray.
“It’s just been an incredible week. From the beginning I played very well and I knew I could play with the big players. It’s an amazing feeling to reach the semi-finals after beating those good players,” said wildcard Mensik who arrived in the Gulf ranked at 116.
“But the job is not done yet. Hopefully I can play like this again in the semis and go on to make the final.”
With his one-hour, 38-minute win on Thursday, Mensik became the youngest player to defeat a top-five player since Carlos Alcaraz overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2021 US Open.
Mensik will face 2018 champion Gael Monfils for a place in Saturday’s final after the veteran won an all-French affair by beating third seed Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-4.
Monfils is the oldest semi-finalist in Qatar tournament history aged 37 years and five months. The other semi-final will see Australia’s Alexei Popyrin face Russian second seed Karen Khachanov.
Popyrin eased past Kazakh fourth seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4 while Khachanov went through when Finnish opponent Emil Ruusuvuori retired with a back injury after just three games.—AFP
