Jakub Mensik has been unstoppable this week in Doha. The young sensation of world tennis managed this Friday, at the age of 18, to qualify for the first final of an ATP tournament after adding a new name to his long list of victims.
If in the first round it is Alejandro Davidovich, in the second it is Andy Murray and in the quarterfinals it is Andrey Rublev, first seed, In the semifinals the victim was Gael Monfils, whom he defeated 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
The Frenchman started the match well and, after winning his first service game, sand placed with 0-40 in the second suggested that experience will play an important role in the evening, but Mensik remained determined to act like a veteran and was able to execute the game supported by a good service that supported him throughout the set.
The only thing left to do was to take advantage of a moment of lack of control on the part of his opponent to decide the set, and that moment came in the fifth game.. The combination of the Frenchman’s errors and the Czech’s successes put the young prodigy at 3-2 and served, a lead he managed to maintain without too much trouble until the final 6-4, with a truly spectacular points that caused the delirium of the public that filled the court. center.
The second set started in a similar but different way. Similar because Monfils started by holding his serve and going 0-40 in the second game, but different because this time the Frenchman achieved a break which he then confirmed with great authority (3-0) .
A second break in the sixth game left the set for a decisionwith an increasingly relaxed Monfils happily closing out the set at a resounding 6-1.
The moment of truth has arrived, the time to find out if Mensik really is made of the stuff of champions. And the boy. He knew how to stop the push of his experienced rival and went 2-0an advantage that, however, did not last long as Monfils recovered the break and managed to make the score 2-2.
It’s time to start over, and the game enters a dramatic phase where every game becomes a battle. Suffering too much, they both held their serve until 4-3when Mensik hit the table with his fist allowing him to stay on the brink of victory.
At 5-3 it remained to be seen if the closing game pressure would be enough for him., but that obviously didn’t suit him. Without blinking he made it 6-3 to close out a huge victory against a great rival.
Her opponent in the final was Karen Khachanov. The Russian, second seed, defeated Alexei Popyrin in the first semifinal 7-6(12), 6-2 in a very close match that he did not finish until midway through the second set, when the Australian began to suffer physical problems.
Popyrin started successfully, throwing his punches from the back of the court to a Khachanov who took a while to warm up and saw his rival break his serve in the third game and went up 4-2.
The Russian is gradually attacking the court to balance the set and take it to an eternal tiebreak that began by dominating 4-0.
Popyrin was able to react and rebalance the forces to 12-12, at that time Khachanov’s greater poise tipped the balance in his favor.
The second set followed the same pattern from the start, but it didn’t take long for the Russian to catch a break which made it difficult for Popyrin who also suffered from physical problems with his stomach for which he needed help.
Despite a timid attempt at reaction on his part, the die was kicked out and Khachanov closed out the fight with great skill to fight for his first title on Qatari soil.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
