United Cup
\n Mensik downs Ruud in Top 20 showdown, seals Czechia’s win vs. Norway<\/p>\n
Krejcikova defeats Helgo<\/p>\n
January 05, 2026<\/p>\n
Brett Hemmings\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Jakub Mensik improves to 2-0 against Casper Ruud in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
\n By ATP\/WTA Staff<\/p>\n
Jakub Mensik clinched Czechia\u2019s victory against Norway at the United Cup on Monday, when he downed fellow Top 20 star Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6(6) in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Making his United Cup debut and playing his first match of the season, Mensik\u2019s win followed Barbora Krejcikova\u2019s victory against Malene Helgo to give Czechia a 2-0 win in the Group D tie, eliminating Norway, which fell to 0-2 this week.<\/p>\n
Mensik held his nerve late in both sets, earning a crucial break at 5-5 in the opener before serving for a one-set advantage. Mensik later rebounded from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set. He trailed 3\/5 in the second-set tie-break, yet won five of the next six points to survive. The winner of last year\u2019s ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami, Mensik crushed a forehand pass cross-court when facing a set point at 5\/6 in the second-set tie-break.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst match of the season, it\u2019s never easy,\u201d Mensik said during his on-court interview. \u201cIt\u2019s been a great fight. I\u2019m grateful for the win. I managed in both sets to find the power at the end, that was the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 20 years and four months, Mensik is the second-youngest man to record a singles win in United Cup history, behind an 18-year-old Stefanos Sakellaridis in 2023. The World No. 18 in the PIF ATP Rankings improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Ruud, whom Mensik beat at last year\u2019s Australian Open in the second round.<\/p>\n
Mensik crushed 16 aces and won 78 per cent of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, compared to Ruud\u2019s 56 per cent.<\/p>\n
Earlier, two-time major singles champion Krejcikova scored a winning United Cup debut in a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Norway’s Helgo.<\/p>\n
The former World No. 2 comes into the 2026 WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz season ranked No. 65 in the PIF WTA Rankings after another bout with injury to close 2025. She reached the quarter-finals of the US Open in September, a watershed moment in her season that only began in May after dealing with a recurring back injury.<\/p>\n
Putting Team Czechia on the scoreboard \ud83d\udccb pic.twitter.com\/EihT4A8bFV<\/a><\/p>\n