Jakub Mensik’s Roland Garros run is over, but there is still so much for him to be proud of.
After all, he overcame great physical torment to take out some of the sport’s most talented male players, only falling to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.
Tim Henman, who watched the match from the TNT Sports studio just outside of Philippe Chatrier, was keen to emphasise just how impressive this tournament performance had been.
And, in doing so, he actually made a bold prediction about Jakub Mensik’s future.
Tim Henman’s Grand Slam prediction about Jakub Mensik
Speaking live on TNT Sports’ broadcast immediately after the result, the British pundit remained impressed with Mensik despite his magnificent run coming to an end.
Henman stated: “From Mensik’s point of view, of course he is going to be disappointed. But he is 20 years of age, he has won a Masters 1000. This is his first Grand Slam semi-final; he is going to take enormous confidence away from this.
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“He is going to be in many more semi-finals. I definitely think he will be in Grand Slam finals and I would not be surprised if he wins them. There is so much upside from the last couple of weeks for Mensik.”
Then, going on to discuss the rest of the young superstars who shone throughout this event, Henman added: “I think coming into this event we were bitterly disappointed that Alcaraz was out injured and you are thinking, is this Sinner against the field?
“But then you had Kouame coming in just when Monfils is retiring from French tennis. The younger generation are absolutely banging on the door.”
Zverev gave his opinion on the French Open crowd after his win over Mensik, who did seem to start pulling for his opponent after he established his strong lead.
Why Jakub Mensik is the most promising young player on the ATP Tour
If Mensik proved anything over the last two weeks, it’s that he remains criminally underrated, and inarguably the best youngster on the ATP Tour.
After all, to compare him to the likes of Rafael Jodar, Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien is now unfair, given none of them can really compare to him in every metric.
The Czech star is due to rise to 17th in the world rankings, having reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam.
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Neither of those aforementioned three can match that level in the rankings, or such a run at a major.
That’s without mentioning the fact that Mensik is the only Masters 1000 champion of the group, having actually beaten Fonseca during this run at Roland Garros.
Perhaps this tournament will finally make people start taking notice of just how special this 20-year-old is.
