PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – Jakub Mensik, the best teenager in the world according to the ATP ranking (54th), wants to finish his career among the greatest of all time. His big ambition? “To be number one and win every Grand Slam.”
The Czech, standing at 191 cm with a powerful serve, is one of the most promising tennis prospects alongside Joao Fonseca, with whom he hopes to cultivate a great rivalry — one that already began in late 2024 at the Next Gen ATP Finals in a thrilling match won by the Brazilian.
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“I’m really excited to play many matches against him,” Mensik told CLAY during an interview in Punta Cana, where he is competing in the Challenger 175 Copa Cap Cana.
The 19-year-old forms one of the strongest Davis Cup teams alongside his compatriots Jiri Lehecka and Tomas Machac. Mensik warns: “The Czech Republic can beat anyone.”
Interview with Jakub Mensik
– You’re 19 years old, part of an exciting group of young players. Some names like Joao Fonseca, Arthur Fils, Alex Michelsen were part of the last Next Gen ATP Finals. What are the strenghs of this new generation?
– It’s a topic that we can talk for a long time about it. Well, obviously, every time during some kind of periods in tennis, there are coming new names, new generations, new game styles and everything. The Big 3 dominated the tennis world for 20 yeras. Right now, the new generation is about to bring something fresh into tennis. It’s tough to say exactly what characterize us, as we all have different styles. In my opinion, there’s a greater emphasis on physicality. Also, I think we can absorb a lot from playing against the best players in the world. We learn a lot from it. That way, one day we can reach their level.
– Will be a next Big 3 among the teenage sensations?
– Roger, Rafa, and Novak were on the top for 20 years, which is insane. Right now, Novak is still playing and he can still win tournaments. So it’s kind of difficult to talk about that when the next generation is just starting. Pretty much like me, Joao, Alex Michelsen and all of these good players, they have the tennis to be there one day as well.
— That exciting match you played in Jeddah during the Next Gen ATP Finals could have been the beginning of a vibrant rivalry, couldn’t it? And it had a unique scoreline: 3-4 (4), 4-3 (4), 4-3 (2), 3-4 (4), and 4-3 (5).
– It was a good match, of course, with different rules. It’s kind of different than when you’re playing until six games. We had no ad-scoring. Makes you feel like when you are up in the score, you don’t have a real control over the game. The differences between players narrow when you are playing up to four games each set. A top 200 player will have more chances to beat a top 10 player this way. Anyone can beat anyone. It would be interesting to play a normal match against Fonseca. We played five tiebreaks! It was just about who won more in the tiebreaks. It was pretty much about the pressure points, you have pressure times all the time there.
– Are you excited for more battles against him?
– Absolutely. Right now, he’s doing pretty well. He won his first ATP title. He did great in Australia. In the beginning of the season, he won a lot of matches. He’s on a good path, getting there to the top spots very fast. It’s good to see that. I’m really excited to play more matches against him.
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– Would you bring any of the different rules of the Next-Gen Finals to the ATP tournaments?
– It’s tough to say, to be honest. I lost everything, so in my opinion, it’s not good. I mean, no-let is pretty awesome because I hit three aces with that. But the guy who received three aces by no-let, in this case, he will say that he doesn’t like it. It’s exciting to play this kind of rules. Some kind of tournaments can be like that. But not big tournaments. Let the Grand Slams the way they are. But for lower tournaments, like ATP 250, why not?
– Czech tennis is in a great place right now. Tomas Machac, Jiri Lehecka, yourself. That’s a fantastic Davis Cup team, by the way.
– We are doing pretty well. With Jiri, Tomas, we are all going up in the rankings, showing great performances on the court. So, that’s really great to see because for a long time, we didn’t have much Czech tennis players in top 100. Right now, we are three top 50. So, I think it’s really great what is happening and we are pushing each other forward. These guys are winning tournaments. That is making everybody perform better, because we push each other up. In Davis Cup we can beat literally anyone. And we can even become a stronger team.
– Your country has a rich history in the sport. Do you get inspired by any name of the past?
– Obviously, there are plenty of legends. I was not even born when Ivan Lendl played, but of course he is an inspiration. But my generation follows more what Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek did. I watched them mainly on Davis Cup. They won in 2012 playing singles and doubles, then retained the title in 2013. That was incredible and great to see when I was a kid. Right now, having Tomas as a captain of Davis Cup team, it’s something that is special. It’s really important for us that we can take some experiences from him.
– What’s your biggest ambition in tennis?
– To be world number one and to win all of the Grand Slams.
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