Jakub Mensik has been given a boost ahead of his Roland Garros semifinal against Alexander Zverev according to John McEnroe.
Mensik beat Joao Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(3) to continue his best ever Grand Slam run and reach the semifinals of a major tournament for the first time.
This was the first straight sets match Mensik had won since the first round, as he now looks ahead to his match with Roland Garros title favourite Zverev.
Despite being the underdog going into this match, McEnroe has provided Mensik with some ‘good news’ ahead of his upcoming semifinal with Zverev.
Jakub Mensik told why his amount of time on court is a ‘non issue’ against Alexander Zverev
When looking ahead to Mensik and Zverev’s semifinal live on TNT Sports, seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander revealed what he is expecting from the match.
“I expect a lot of good serving because I think if you get this confident you are going to keep serving well,” said Wilander.
“After that from the baseline, I expect Zverev to be a bit more steady but I think Mensik will take the initiative because I think he has to and I think he knows he has to. I think he hit his forehand today better than I have ever seen. I thought his forehand was a weakness but it is not, apparently.
“But I do think that he will be the one that is going to press and come forward against Zverev and Zverev might have to hang back a bit but he has great defensive skills. There’s a bit of a style contrast with both of them that I do love.”
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One advantage that Zverev may have over Mensik is being fresher physically ahead of their semifinal, as he has spent four hours less on court heading into the semifinal.
Despite this, McEnroe believes that this will not be an issue for Mensik, as he now has two days off to recover ahead of the semifinal with Zverev.
“Here is the good news for Mensik, he is not playing for a couple of days and he’s 20,” said McEnroe. “It’s amazing how you bounce back that quickly. For me it’s a non issue. It’s how he handles the pressure.
“I will give Sascha credit, he handled it great. I think everyone, including myself, is saying he is going to win this. It could lead to multiple ones. Or the other side of the coin, if he doesn’t, he will never win one. There is a lot riding on this for Sascha but that one he passed with flying colours today.”
| Roland Garros 2026 | Time spent on court |
| Alexander Zverev | 11 hours 42 minutes |
| Jakub Mensik | 15 hours 44 minutes |
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The Roland Garros semifinal match between Mensik and Zverev will be the second time they have played, with both matches taking place during the clay court season this year.
Mensik played Zverev for the first time at the Madrid Open last month, where he was beaten 6-4, 6(4)-7, 6-3.
However, Mensik does have previous victories over the likes of Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz.
The world number 27 will be playing his first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros, while Zverev is in 11th.
In Zverev’s 10 previous Grand Slam semifinals, he has won only three of those and has suffered three defeats in the Roland Garros semifinals.
