Jakub Mensik was unable to complete his match against Alex de Minaur at the China Open.
Mensik has played a lot of tennis in recent weeks, travelling to Asia after a busy schedule in the States where he played the US Open, the Davis Cup and then the Laver Cup.
It was at the Laver Cup where Mensik also lost to De Minaur, who was a standout performer for Team World.
De Minaur has continued this form at the China Open, but he did not have to play much in his quarterfinal against Mensik.
Photo by WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty ImagesWhat Jakub Mensik told Alex de Minaur about his injury after retiring at the China Open
Mensik appeared to be in good form after reaching the quarterfinals of the China Open, but did not make a good start to his match against De Minaur.
After being broken in just his second service game, Mensik received a medical timeout on his left leg, with there being some attention given to the Czech’s knee as well.
Despite carrying on after this medical timeout, Mensik retired from the match just two games later and went over to shake the hand of De Minaur.
There was music blaring on the Diamond Court at the China Open, but some of the exchange could be heard between Mensik and De Minaur.
“[Inaudible] Sharp shooting pain, it is going to get worse the more I keep playing,” Mensik was heard saying about his injury. “Sorry for that, good luck for the rest of the tournament.”
What is next for Jakub Mensik after retiring at the China Open?
The severity of Mensik’s injury is currently unclear, and it could have just been as a result of a build-up of the amount of matches he has played in recent weeks.
Mensik has little time to prepare for his next tournament, and he is already in the draw at the Shanghai Masters, where Novak Djokovic also features.
In the Shanghai Masters, where Mensik reached the quarterfinals last year, he will play either Jesper de Jong or Chinese wildcard Yi Zhou after receiving a bye to the second round as the 17th seed.
Mensik is then scheduled to have a couple of weeks off, before he heads back to Europe to compete at the Swiss Indoors event in Basel.
While Mensik tries to recover from his injuries, De Minaur progresses to the China Open semifinals, where he will play against world number two Jannik Sinner, who he has lost all 10 of his previous meetings against.