Jakub Mensik’s 2024 rise has come at the expense at some of the best possible competition. On Friday, Mensik will face the best of the best–if not right now, then arguably of all time.
Mensik will go up against 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters after upsetting world No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Wednesday. The 19-year-old has now won four consecutive matches against top-10 opponents. He also defeated sixth-ranked Andrey Rublev in the Shanghai second round.
“[It was a] very difficult match on the mental side because [there] were a lot of ups and downs,” Mensik said after defeating Dimitrov. “Grigor plays really well and always you have to keep fighting for every point. It’s always tough to stay focused. So, yeah, I’m really happy that I won, but it cost me a lot of energy.”
Now an even tougher opponent will be on the other side of the net from the Czech.
“[I am] more than excited,” he said of facing Djokovic. “Exciting is really a small word [for how I feel]. But, yeah, obviously (it’s) a dream come true. Because of him, I started to play tennis. When I was young and starting to play tennis, he was already on the top. So I was like, ‘Wow, he’s really good.’
“He [won] a lot of Grand Slams. And right now, when I’m 19 and he’s still playing, I have this chance to play against him. Of course, when I started to play, there was one wish–to play against him. So I’m really happy that it came true, and that I can play with him. We’ll see which level I am (at) on Friday.”
