The final between the world’s two best tennis players will not take place on Saturday as expected, thanks to Jakub Mensic who caused the upset of the week when he stunned world number 2 Jannik Sinner in their quarter-final match at the Qatar ExonMobil Open.
I served quite well, even though conditions started to slow down during the night. It was a very tough mental battle Jakub Mensik
The 20-year-old Czech, who won the Miami Masters last year, produced a top-level performance to beat Sinner 7-6(3) 2-6 6-3 to record the biggest win of his burgeoning career.
On Thursday night, Menaik produced a nerveless deciding set to triumph in his first meeting with Sinner and book a semi-final encounter with Arthur Fils, 21, a 6-3 6-3 winner over eighth-seeded Jiri Lehecka.
When asked how he managed to keep his nerves and composure during the deciding set, Mensik replied: “I don’t know, to be honest. Before the match I knew about Jannik’s quality. A great guy, a great champion. What he has already done in his young career is quite impressive, so I knew it would be a tough task. But even with that thought, I came to the match to win it, and even had a winning mentality.”
“I served quite well, even though the conditions started to slow down during the night. It was a very tough mental battle. After the second set, when my energy dropped a bit, I’m very happy that I came back after the toilet break and from the beginning of the third set I just started serving well again. I’m just happy with the performance I showed today.”
The young Czech produced excellent serves throughout the match and recovered impressively in the third set after seeing his level drop in the second set.
He saved four break points in the third game and conceded none in the opener, walking away seven straight points in the tiebreak.
Sinner’s response to dropping the first set on his debut in Doha was typical as he leveled the match by completing four straight games at 2-2.
But the Italian was unable to maintain his momentum, Mensik recovered his game to dictate proceedings by breaking the second seed in the opening and closing matches of the decider and clinching a place in the semi-finals after two hours and twelve minutes where Frenchman Fils awaits.
“I certainly didn’t know that I would play so well so quickly,” said Fils after his victory over Lehecka.
“You don’t know what to expect when you come back from an injury after six to eight months. So you don’t really know what to expect.”
“[I’m] pretty happy with the way I’m playing now. It’s not my best tennis yet, but we’re getting there. I just have to fight every match to play a lot of balls, play a lot of games, sets, points, get ready again and keep getting better.
(Photo by Karim JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Sinner’s big rival, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, advanced to the semi-finals in the hunt for his first Doha title, for which he is now favourite.
The world No. 1 player was taken to three sets but eventually defeated Karen Khachanov 6-7(1) 6-4 6-3 to secure his place in the semi-finals.
Both players struck the ball with ruthless power from the baseline, but it was Alcaraz who held his nerve as he returned to claim a well-deserved victory and a semi-final meeting with defending champion Andrey Rublev.
“It was a very exciting and tense match,” Alcaraz admitted. “In the first set I had a few break points and I couldn’t get them. One set point and I couldn’t get it, so it was very tough.”
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“I think Karen played great, but I knew I had my chances. I just didn’t take them in the first set, so it was time to keep going and keep fighting. Wait for my opportunities and try to take them in the second set. I’m just really proud of the way I [fought].”
Both Alcaraz and Khachanov dropped three break points during a rollicking opening set that featured several stunning exchanges across all courts. It was Khachanov who, after saving a set point at 4-5, raised his level on command to take a lead.
Serve dominated the early stages of the second set, with Alcaraz seizing his opportunity when it presented itself and after leveling the score, the Spaniard maintained his momentum in the third, breaking game a in the fifth to win five of the last six games and wrap it up after two hours and 27 minutes.
Earlier on Thursday, Rublev extended his winning streak in Doha to eight matches with a 6-3 7-6(2) victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The world number 14, the champion in the Qatari capital in both 2020 and 2025, saved all five break points he faced against Tstisipas in their 96-minute match.
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