Set to take flight in Jeddah, Mensik recalls childhood airport mishap
Jakub Mensik earned his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF with a breakout season that included four Top 10 wins. One of four Jeddah competitors inside the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings — alongside Arthur Fils, Alex Michelsen and Shang Juncheng — Mensik knew before the 2024 season started that he wanted to end it at the 20-and-under showcase event.
“It was one of my biggest goals to reach this event before the season,” he said this week. “I’m glad to be here. So far it’s amazing, the facilities and everything that they did for us. You can feel really that you’re one of the best younger players in the world.”
[ATP APP]Throughout his rise, Mensik has always been able to count on the unwavering support of his parents, Michal and Katerina. Both his parents are in Jeddah, and they have regularly travelled with Mensik since his junior tennis days.
The family are frequent flyers now, but they recalled an airport mishap years ago, long before Mensik grew accustomed to the nomadic life. When he was nine, the family was waiting at baggage claim when Mensik became distracted by a cat. After going over to investigate, he lost track of his parents, who left the baggage area before realising their son had gone missing.
Mensik remembers a scary wait until his father returned: “From nowhere, my dad appeared after 30, 45 minutes, and everything was good,” he said with a laugh.
It will be hard to lose sight of Mensik this week as he competes under the spotlight of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
While Mensik exceeded all outside expectations this year on the ATP Tour, the 19-year-old is not putting himself under any undue pressure in Jeddah. As the third seed, he will open his campaign against Learner Tien on Wednesday.
“I never have expectations,” he explained. “Obviously just to enjoy this beautiful tournament. Of course I would be happy to win a couple of matches and of course I’m going here to win it.”
Mensik took a similar approach at his first ATP Tour tournament this February in Doha, where he beat Andrey Rublev en route to the final. He also beat Rublev on his way to the quarter-finals at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he pushed his idol Novak Djokovic to three sets. Mensik lists those two weeks as the highlights of his year, along with representing Czechia at the Olympics and Davis Cup.
He’ll hope to end his 2024 campaign with another week to remember in Jeddah.
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