Mensik the Marathon Man of Suzanne-Lenglen: Rublev Falls

Suzanne-Lenglen witnessed the determination of a young player over 3 hours 45 minutes. The 20-year-old Jakub Mensik, after taking the first two sets against the experienced Russian Andrey Rublev, lost the third and fourth sets but rallied back in the fifth set to close the match 6-3, 7-6(8), 4-6, 2-6, 6-3. This first Grand Slam quarter-final for the Czech is a historic step for a player whose previous best result at Roland Garros was the third round. On the other side, for Rublev, another fracture was added to the bitter equation in Paris.

The flow of the match is yet another story. Mensik took the first set 6-3 by breaking his opponent's serve twice; in the match he hit 13 aces and took his first-serve winning percentage to 77 percent. In the second set, the scoreboard locked at 6-6, going to a tiebreak. After a 10-8 extension, Mensik went 2-0 ahead. Until that moment, the entire arena was in the young player's favour. But Rublev is a Grand Slam veteran: in the third set, with non-yielding returns, he broke the Czech's rhythm and took the set 6-4; in the fourth set, the picture was even clearer — he dismantled it 6-2. The scoreboard now showed only one player with his back to the wall: the 20-year-old Czech, at 2-2.

In the fifth set, Mensik's character emerged. He found his first serve again, stayed aggressive in his return game, and broke his opponent's serve once more after going 3-2 ahead. Leading 5-3, the Czech took the field for the closing service: his 191 km/h wood-thumping serve fell into the net as the last ace; the spectators' applause started before the racket dropped. The total points score 163-158 in his favour (only a 5-point difference) sums up the close contest of the two players. In short rallies of 1-4 shots, Mensik crushed his opponent from behind at 100-80; in long rallies of 9+ shots, Rublev had moved to numerical superiority at 24-21 — the Czech closed this with the power of his first serve.

Mensik's 2026 story is accelerating every passing month. The Czech, born in September 2005, peaked last season in March 2025 when he beat Novak Djokovic in the Miami Open final to take his second career ATP title. Doha 2024 was his first. At the start of this season, he won the ASB Classic Auckland, beating Sebastián Báez in the final 6-3, 7-6(7). Coming to Paris with a 21-9 overall season performance, the Czech had built a 6-3 line in the clay-court swing. He eliminated Titouan Droguet (6-3, 6-2, 6-4) in the previous rounds at Roland Garros, Mariano Navone in five sets (6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6) and Alex De Minaur (0-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3). The De Minaur victory was the tournament's first major surprise; today's Rublev result is its continuation.

For Rublev, the story stands at a very different point. The 28-year-old Russian is one of the most consistent names in the last decade of tennis: 17 ATP single titles, world No. 11 ranking, Monte Carlo Masters championship (2023). But at Grand Slams — especially at Roland Garros — the door closes at a certain point. In his 11 appearances, he reached the quarter-final in only two (2020, 2022); after that, always a wall. This season, alongside his 21-10 season performance, he lost the Barcelona Open final to Arthur Fils; he had been waiting for a turning point at Roland Garros. On Sunday, as Suzanne-Lenglen's clocks showed 3 hours 45 minutes, that point remained again a step away.

In the quarter-final, Mensik will face the winner of the Casper Ruud-João Fonseca match. The Norwegian Ruud, the 15th seed, is a two-time RG finalist (2022, 2023); Fonseca is the 18-year-old Brazilian prodigy who beat Djokovic in the tournament. The match, where a tight five-set battle is expected, will be completed on Sunday evening. Whoever comes out, Mensik will pass a very tough test, but this is a familiar area for the Czech now: marathons.

Roland Garros 2026 is creating a wave of surprises on the men's side. Djokovic, Tommy Paul, Gauff, Swiatek — the table's big names fell one by one. New-generation players like Mensik, 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, and 18-year-old Fonseca have begun to take their places at a time when the throne is empty. The Czech, who saw his first Grand Slam quarter-final at 20, left the question on the court of whether he could be the youngest champion to lift the cup.

Image: tennismajors.com