Czech teenager Jakub Mensik defeated top seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Thursday at the Qatar Open, reaching his first ATP semi-final and securing a berth in the world’s top 100 for the first time.
The 18-year-old won 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) against fifth-ranked Rublev, a day after defeating three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray.
“It has been an unbelievable week. I performed exceptionally well from the start, and I thought I could compete with the best. It’s a fantastic feeling to get to the semi-finals after overcoming such top players,” remarked wildcard. Mensik, who arrived in the Gulf, rated 116.
“But the job isn’t finished yet. Hopefully, I can play like this again in the semis and go to the final.
With his one-hour, 38-minute victory on Thursday, Mensik became the youngest player to upset a top-five player since Carlos Alcaraz defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2021 US Open.
Mensik will face either Ugo Humbert or Gael Monfils, who will play later in an all-French quarterfinal, for a spot in Saturday’s final.
The other semi-final will pit Australia’s Alexei Popyrin against Russia’s second seed Karen Khachanov.
Popyrin defeated Kazakh fourth seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4, and Khachanov advanced after Finnish opponent Emil Ruusuvuori resigned with an injury after only three games.