“Because of Tomas, I started to play tennis.”

Jakub Mensik grew up watching Tomas Berdych light up the ATP Tour. The former World No. 4 would often practise in Mensik’s hometown, Prostejov, Czech Republic, where the 17-year-old had the chance to first meet Berdych in 2011.

“I was five and I was one of the hundreds of kids who played with him, one point in Prostejov,” Mensik told ATPTour.com. “It was kids day [at a Challenger event], and Tomas Berdych and Ivan Lendl came to be there with the kids and enjoy the time. 12 years ago, I was just a little kid watching him and watching his matches. I met him and took a photo with him. At that time, he didn’t know who I was, but now it’s a completely different situation.”

It is a ‘different situation’ now because Mensik is a fast-rising star on the ATP Challenger Tour, trying to follow in the footsteps of Berdych. In May, the teen won his first Challenger title on the clay courts of Prague. A month later, while competing at his home tournament in Prostejov, Mensik and Berdych played an exhibition match on kids day at the UniCredit Czech Open, the same event where they posed for a picture in 2011. 

“[Tomas] has not played for four years but in Prostejov, he’s the player of the club. He would practise there and played Challengers there, like the Czech Open,” Mensik said. “It was really fun, I really enjoyed it. Because of Tomas, I started to play tennis. Now I had the opportunity to play with him.”

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In just his sixth Challenger outing, Mensik edged Berdych by two months to become the youngest Czech Challenger champion in history (since 1978). Mensik joined elite company in Prague, becoming one of four 17-year-old Challenger titlists in the past five years: Jannik Sinner (2019), Carlos Alcaraz (2020), Shang Juncheng (2022).

Despite being able to count how many Challengers he has played on two hands, the World No. 217 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings stated that he is learning quickly.

“When I started this year playing a couple Challengers, it’s a completely different level than playing Futures,” Mensik said. “I played a few Challengers in Thailand and then a few in Europe, I was like a new guy there. I knew I could play with those guys, but I didn’t have the experience. After a few tournaments, I really started to trust myself and play my best game.

“In Prague, that tournament I felt very special on court. From the start, I beat the top seed [Radu Albot] and after that match, I was like, ‘Let’s continue’. Match by match, I felt more comfortable on the court. Then in a few days I became a champion. I felt very special and it was a very good experience for me. After losing in first rounds and qualifying rounds, I think it was faster than I expected.”

The 2022 Australian Open boys’ singles finalist is aiming to continue his rapid rise with a goal of being at the Next Gen ATP Finals, an eight-player field that features the season’s best 21-and-under players. Mensik is currently 20th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

“Of course to be part of the Next Gen Finals would be really good. At the start of the season, I was losing matches and now the last few months, I’ve played well so I can see the ranking is moving,” Mensik said. “Let’s see what the next tournaments will bring but it will be very nice. It’s of course one of my goals. But the big goal is to be a part of the US Open. It would be my first Grand Slam. US Open would be really good and moving to the Top 200 would also be very good.”

In order to achieve those goals, Mensik is working hard on the ATP Challenger Tour. The teenager is in action at this week’s Concord Iasi Open, where he will aim for the highest-ranked win of his career when he meets top seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles in Friday’s quarter-final.

Sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden rallied from a set down Wednesday to book their ticket to the Wimbledon semi-finals.

The Indian-Australian duo survived Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Bart Stevens 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-2 in the quarter-finals after one hour, 54 minutes. Bopanna and Ebden won 63 per cent of points behind their second serve, compared to their opponents’ 39 per cent.

Bopanna and Ebden, who have claimed titles in Doha and Indian Wells this year, will next clash against top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski after the Dutch-British duo defeated Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the last eight. Koolhof and Skupski won 82 per cent of their first-serve points to advance.

The 10th seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz downed 13th seeds Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-3. The German pair will face 15th seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semi-finals after the Spanish-Argentine team ousted Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-4, 7-5.

The men’s doubles semi-finals will take place Thursday on No. 1 Court, starting at 1 p.m. local time.

Novak Djokovic is a force to be reckoned with at Wimbledon, a point multiple stars of Netflix’s Break Point made in the hit tennis documentary series.

“He’s played in I have no idea how many Slam finals, probably like 30, 40,” Nick Kyrgios said. “I’m a kid from Canberra. I’m not supposed to be here. But I’m here.”

Today, Djokovic is a 23-time major winner who has reached 34 finals at Grand Slam tournaments. In last year’s Wimbledon final, the Serbian defeated Kyrgios in four sets.

“He’s so mentally in tune with everything,” Kyrgios said.

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In the final, Kyrgios made a quick start and won the opening set. From there, Djokovic took over to claim his seventh trophy at The Championships in four sets.

“His composure in certain moments where another player would have started to panic, he didn’t show me,” the Australian explained.

“He’s calmer. You can’t rush him. He’s more patient. You can’t teach that. It comes from experience.”

Two of the show’s experts, Andy Roddick and Patrick Mouratoglou, also praised Djokovic in Break Point.

“Physically dominant. Mentally tougher than everyone else,” Roddick said. “Novak, he’s the master of the game.”

Mouratoglou said of the Serbian: “Beating Novak at Wimbledon is probably the highest mountain to climb for any tennis player.”

Persistent rain was not enough to stop Kei Nishikori Wednesday on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The former World No.4 ousted sixth seed Alexis Galarneau 7-6(3), 6-1 in the first round of the Chicago Men’s Challenger, where rain forced the event to move indoors on Wednesday. Nishikori won 47 per cent of his return points and raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set, eventually converting his third match point to advance after one hour, 24 minutes.

World No. 215 Galarneau is the highest-ranked player Nishikori has beat during his 2023 comeback. The Japanese star will next face Skander Mansouri or James McCabe in the second round.

Back to work 💪@keinishikori gearing up for this week’s event in Chicago!#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/ueBWJG4SYP

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 10, 2023

The 33-year-old Nishikori, who underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery last year, returned to action last month at the ATP Challenger event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico. Despite playing his first tournament since the BNP Paribas Open in October 2021, the 12-time tour-level titlist dropped just one set all week en route to the title. Nishikori also played last week’s Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he fell to American Denis Kudla in the second round.

Nishikori, who is World No. 501 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will return to ATP Tour action later this month in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

Fans can watch all ATP Challenger Tour matches live and on demand for free at Challenger TV.

Daniil Medvedev ended Christopher Eubanks’ dream run at Wimbledon on Wednesday, when he clawed past the American 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 to reach the semi-finals.

Eubanks, who less than four months ago had not cracked the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, captured the attention of fans throughout the world by advancing to the quarter-finals, and was within a tie-break of blasting his way into the last four at The Championships. But Medvedev did not panic and locked down from the baseline when it mattered most to move on after two hours and 57 minutes.

Earlier this year, Eubanks stepped into the spotlight when he reached the Miami quarter-finals as a qualifier. At the ATP Masters 1000 event, Medvedev ended the American’s run 6-3, 7-5.

The third seed was made to work a lot harder on No. 1 Court Wednesday and was within a few minutes of losing. But Medvedev was too solid in the critical moments and relied on his own serving, hitting 28 aces in the match and winning 89 per cent of his first-serve points in the final two sets.

Medvedev made only 13 unforced errors across five sets compared to 52 winners to set a clash against top seed Carlos Alcaraz or sixth seed Holger Rune. He is now 4-9 in five-setters.

If Medvedev wins the title, he will climb to first in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and set the stage for a three-way battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone with Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz.

The crowd favourite, Eubanks hit back-to-back double faults to relinquish a break early in the first set, and Medvedev capitalised by playing a clean set with his usual assortment of jaw-dropping shots. One backhand passing shot left Eubanks shrugging in disbelief as if to say “Too good”. The third seed hit 16 winners to only one unforced error in the opener.

But from there, Eubanks settled in and responded with aggressive tennis. The American played with a joie de vivre and took in the atmosphere during the biggest moment of his career, often interacting with the crowd, which included close friend and WTA star Coco Gauff.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Eubanks cracked a couple of one-handed backhands to seize a break for 3-1 in the second set. That proved to be just the beginning of his turnaround.

Eubanks did not allow Medvedev to spin his defensive web on the London grass. Without overplaying, the two-time college All-American went for his shots and forced the action on his opponent, relying on his booming serve to escape jams and frequently moving forward.

But when it mattered most in the fourth-set tie-break, Medvedev forced his opponent to take the match from him by playing from the baseline and preventing the recent Mallorca champion from moving forward.

Eubanks played 61 points at the net in the first four points, but just five in the deciding set. The match was suddenly played on the favourite’s terms.

Medvedev capitalised on the momentum shift early in the fifth set and immediately broke when the 6’7” former college star hit a double fault into the net. Although the American battled hard until the end, the third seed pulled away. Eubanks shared a special moment with the crowd, making a heart with his hands as he departed.