“This is a real player”: Mats Wilander backs Jakub Mensik as future Grand Slam champion

Mats Wilander backed young Czech Jakub Mensik as a future Grand Slam champion following his impressive performance at the Miami Open. The Swedish former world No. 1 highlighted that the 19-year-old is more than just a huge serve and has the tools to adapt his game to different surfaces.

Mensik stunned the tennis world at the Miami Open with his remarkable level at such a young age. The Czech defeated top players like Jack Draper (No. 6, recent Indian Wells champion) and Taylor Fritz (No. 4) on his way to the final. He then delivered a flawless performance against Novak Djokovic (7-6, 7-6) to claim his first Masters 1000 title and break into the top 25 for the first time in his career.

For Wilander, it’s only a matter of time before Mensik wins his first Grand Slam, as he sees in the Czech both an exceptional serve and real talent to reach that level. "This is not an accident that was waiting to happen, this is a real player who's got real talent, and mentally, he's very, very strong and physically, he doesn't look like 19 at all. He looks like he's 24, 25 years old already."

At 19, Mensik competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals last year but failed to progress beyond the round-robin stage after three consecutive losses. Entering the event as the third seed, he received far less attention than players like Joao Fonseca, Learner Tien, and Arthur Fils—despite being from the same generation and only months apart in age.

However, the Czech quietly advanced in the Miami Open and ended up lifting the title unexpectedly. He became the second-youngest Miami champion, only behind Carlos Alcaraz, who won the tournament before turning 19.

Wilander pointed out that Mensik’s serve is one of his biggest weapons and believes he has the level to compete for Grand Slam titles. "He has got a huge serve, and I think that is why he will be able to play matches where even if his forehand is not working, he is able to hide it and play points in a way where the backhand is the dominant shot from the back. And when he is serving, he doesn’t have to worry about hitting many forehands," Wilander said.

"Watch out for his first serve, because that is one of the most powerful serves that we have in the men's game today. I do believe because of the serve, he will be one of those guys we are talking about winning majors."

Mensik did not enter the Monte-Carlo Masters, as the entry list closed before his ranking surge. However, a potential wildcard should not be ruled out. For now, Mensik is set to play in the Munich Open qualifying in a couple of weeks, but given his new status on the Tour, changes to his schedule wouldn’t be surprising.