Jakub Mensik on chasing Sinner and Alcaraz: “We are here to follow in their footsteps”

Jakub Mensik made history at the Miami Open by defeating 17th seed Arthur Fils 7-6, 6-1 to reach his first-ever Masters 1000 semifinal. The Czech teenager became the first player born in 2005 to reach this stage in a tournament of this category.

Despite only having six Masters 1000 appearances, Mensik has already proven he belongs among the best. As the youngest player in the ATP Top 50, he has now secured his career-high ranking as World No. 34—another rising star in a remarkable new generation taking over the ATP Tour.

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Fils entered the match in great form, having won six of his last seven matches, including an impressive win over World No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the round of 16. The 19-year-old was in high spirits after the match, acknowledging this was the best result of his career so far: "I feel very good after a match like this. It’s definitely the best result I’ve had in my career so far, so I’m very happy, but I know I have to keep going."

However, Mensik is determined not to let this be a one-off deep run. The Czech teenager remains focused on bigger goals: "The work is not done yet. I never thought my career would start with this strength and speed, but before each season, I always sit down to reflect and set my goals."

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"Fortunately, I have an incredible team that supports me every day. Everyone is doing an amazing job, and that’s the real key to this success. We kept working hard even after some tough losses, so I’m really proud to have turned things around and made it this far."

Flying under the radar—but not for long

Despite his impressive numbers, Mensik has yet to receive the same level of attention as other rising stars like Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien, who are nearly the same age. But all of them are chasing the new ATP Tour leaders, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz: "They are the best in the world, so of course, everyone talks about them because they’ve already achieved great things in tennis. But new players are arriving on the tour."

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"As for me, 2024 was my first year as a professional, so I haven't received much attention, but Joao Fonseca is getting a lot of it in 2025. I don’t have a clear answer as to why—maybe because I come from the Czech Republic, a smaller country. Even here in Miami, it feels like South America. I haven't heard anyone speak English; everyone speaks Spanish."

"We are here to follow in Jannik and Carlos’ footsteps, but in the end, the focus will always be on the best player in the world,” he concldued.

Lehecka will have to face the winner between Taylor Frtiz (No. 4) and Matteo berrettini (No. 30), who meet on Thursday night in the main event.

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