In the 2024 Shanghai Masters quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic overcame rising star Jakub Mensik by coming back from a set down.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was full of praise for his 19-year-old opponent, but he also thought that both players had a “physical crisis” at one point in the match.
Djokovic defeated world No. 65 Mensik 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 in a tough match to advance to the Shanghai Masters 1000 quarterfinals. After the two players’ first meeting, Djokovic praised Mensik’s serving and potential in an on-court interview with Tennis TV.
The legendary Serbian watched a 3-0 tiebreak lead evaporate and served for the set at 5-4 before losing an intense opening set on a tiebreak. The 37-year-old responded forcefully, sprinting to a 3-0 lead in the second set and earning another break to finish the set convincingly.
Then, to take a 3-2 lead, Djokovic earned the only break of the deciding set. He then completed the victory with some excellent serving.
Djokovic talked about it and said: “We went toe to toe, ’til the last moment, ’til the last game. I was fortunate to really find great serves in the last game, a couple of aces, that helps. I didn’t serve that well at the end of the first set when I was serving for the set at 5-4. He managed to turn things around, [he] played a good tiebreak. I played quite a bad tiebreak. I just kind of stayed collected and started off very well in the second and I felt that we both had a little bit of a physical crisis at the beginning of the second. I think we pushed each other a lot, a lot of long rallies. A tough battle, really. Almost two and a half hours.”
Djokovic later said: “Jakub is somebody that I’ve been following last three, four years, ever since he played finals of Junior Australian Open. Yeah, we did train at my tennis centre in Belgrade and in Montenegro as well, a couple of training blocks together. I did not train with him [for] a couple of years actually, maybe a year and a half. I could see today why he is one of the best servers we have in the game, and he’s only 19. I think the future is very bright for him. He knows that I am always there for him, whatever he needs.”
He concluded: “I think we should train more together, you know, I think we like playing each other. I think we raise the level when we face each other. Today was obviously the first time officially, but we played a lot of practice matches and sets and it’s always a lot of fun. So I wish him all the best.”
Djokovic in Shanghai, ranking, and results in 2024
Ranked world no.4, the Serbian has achieved a composed 36-8 record in 2024. Djokovic is now competing in Shanghai where he bested the world no.43 Alex Michelsen 7-6(3) 7-6(9), the world no.30 Flavio Cobolli 6-1 6-2, the world no.61 Roman Safiullin 6-3 6-2 and the world no.65 Jakub Mensik 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4.
Novak Djokovic will fight against the world no.7 Taylor Fritz in the semifinal on Saturday at 7:00 pm on STADIUM COURT. Their current head to head is 9-0 for Djokovic.
Djokovic conquered 1 title in 2024 in Paris. Djokovic was the finalist in Wimbledon.
The Serbian won 99 titles in his career: 52 on hard courts, 20 on clay courts, 19 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Djokovic is scheduled to play next in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of October.
Jakub Mensik in 2024
At the moment ranked no.65, Jakub played his last match on the 11th of October when he lost to world no.4 Novak Djokovic 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4 in the quarter in Shanghai (draw).
Presently, during this year the Czech has managed to achieve a composed 36-22 win-loss record. Jakub Mensik’s best performance of the current season was getting to the final in the Canberra Challenger and Doha.
Jakub Mensik will face the world no.502 Daniel Cukierman in the . The head to head is 1-0
for Mensik.The Czech reached the final in the Canberra Challenger and in Doha (Qatar ExxonMobil Open).
Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik played each other only once. Their actual head to head record is 1-0 for Djokovic. When they played, Novak Djokovic won 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4 in the quarter in Shanghai (Shanghai Rolex Masters) on the 11th of October 2024.
In the following video you can watch the key moments of their match.
Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik |
| Embed from Getty Images |
Djokovic in Shanghai, ranking, and results in 2024
At the moment ranked no.4, Djokovic owns a 36-8 win-loss record in 2024. Djokovic is currently competing in Shanghai where he conquered the world no.43 Alex Michelsen 7-6(3) 7-6(9), the world no.30 Flavio Cobolli 6-1 6-2, the world no.61 Roman Safiullin 6-3 6-2 and the world no.65 Jakub Mensik 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4.
Novak Djokovic will play the world no.7 Taylor Fritz in the semifinal on Saturday at 7:00 pm on STADIUM COURT. Their record is 9-0 for Djokovic.
The Serbian has won 1 title in 2024 in Paris. Djokovic reached the final in Wimbledon.
Novak won 99 titles in his career: 52 on hard courts, 20 on clay courts, 19 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Djokovic will play next in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of October.
Jakub Mensik in 2024
Currently the world no.65, Mensik played his last match on the 11th of October when he was defeated by world no.4 Novak Djokovic 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4 in the quarter in Shanghai (draw).
Currently, during this season Mensik owns a compiled 36-22 match record. Jakub Mensik’s best performance of the current season was reaching the final in the Canberra Challenger and Doha.
Jakub Mensik will compete against the world no.502 Daniel Cukierman in the . Their current head to head is 1-0 for Mensik.
Jakub got to the final in the Canberra Challenger and in Doha (Qatar ExxonMobil Open).
Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik clashed against each other just once. Their current head to head is 1-0 for Djokovic. When they played, Novak Djokovic won 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4 in the quarter in Shanghai (Shanghai Rolex Masters) on the 11th of October 2024.
Here are the highlights.
Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik |
| Embed from Getty Images |