Casper Ruud was sent spinning out of the Australian Open as Czech teenager Jakub Mensik pulled off an impressive 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 upset under the lights at Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday.
Rangy 19-year-old Mensik, the 2022 boy’s singles finalist at Melbourne Park, sealed the match in style with a searing forehand winner to push the three-times Grand Slam finalist and sixth seed to the exit.
Mensik reached the third round of the tournament for the first time, matching his best Grand Slam result after reaching the third round of the U.S. Open twice.
Also read | Djokovic advances to Melbourne third round, breaks Federer’s record
Ruud became the fourth top 10 seed to fall at the tournament following Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov.
“I feel great. Casper was playing really good from the beginning, it was really tough,” said Mensik, who also played in the NextGen finals.
“After the second set when it was 1-1, I just tried to play the same, focus on my game.
“That was a key for me today because against a player like this, best of five sets is not that easy.”
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com