![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/610X150-Slide_PRO-PLAYER_5-21-26.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSpeaking to TNT\u2019s panel today, Hall of Famer Andre Agassi laid out a three-point plan for 26th-seeded Czech Jakub Mensik to topple Zverev in tomorrow\u2019s semifinals.<\/p>\n
Agassi asserts Mensik must:<\/p>\n
*Get off to a fast start to apply scoreboard pressure<\/p>\n
*Hit his backhand down the line to test the German\u2019s weaker forehand wing<\/p>\n
*Mix his forehand direction to spread the court more effectively<\/p>\n
If the 2025 Miami Open champion Mensik can follow that game plan and test Zverev\u2019s sometimes jittery nerves, he has a shot for the upset, Agassi says, because the Czech is explosive and more offensive than the former Olympic gold-medal champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, [Mensik] does have a huge game. Two days off for Zverev\u2014that\u2019s not easy when you\u2019ve never won a Slam, you have two days to think about it,\u201d Agassi said. \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve got a hunch he\u2019s going to be as nervous as gypsy with a mortgage out there when he steps on that court.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s think out loud a little bit. You\u2019ve got two guys with great backhands. One of them defensive more so even though he can hurt you with it doesn\u2019t choose to and that\u2019s Sasha. Then you\u2019ve got Mensik who is looking to do damage with that shot. So give them equal on the backhands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI give Zverev a little bit of advantage on the serve just because of his percentage. I\u2019d have to say Mensik\u2019s forehand is obviously a better shot. But the problem is his biggest shot with the forehand is always dragging you inside out. It\u2019s like the opposite of Zverev, who always wants to roll everything cross[court], Mensik wants to pound everything inside out.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Mensik doesn\u2019t spread the court to the forehand corner, so that\u2019s [the two-handed backhand] Zverev\u2019s best defensive shot. So he\u2019ll be defending that really well. I think Mensik early needs to be committed to total conviction and he needs to be taking a lot of backhand lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though some elite opponents come out trying to pound Zverev\u2019s sometime short and spinny forehand, Agassi advises against an all-out assault on the forehand because, he believes, you telegraph your shot and can play the German\u2019s weaker wing into a groove.<\/p>\n
Instead, Agassi says Mensik should selectively attack the Zverev forehand on pivotal points make him produce under pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he should be going after Zverev\u2019s forehand until the moments present themselves,\u201d Agassi said. \u201cBecause Zverev tends to work into a rhythm with his forehand and I\u2019ve noticed he plays better if you keep going after it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you randomly make him think about that forehand swing, it can get pretty dodgy especially if there\u2019s some\u00a0conditions going on out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Agassi, one of a handful of champions to complete the career Golden Slam winning all four major championships and the Olympic singles gold medal, says Zverev\u2019s preparation for this moment is better than it has been. The question is: Can Zverev master his nerves to meet this major moment?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe might be taking a different approach towards being ready for this moment and hopefully it plays out where he does feel ready for this moment. But it\u2019s about time he does that,\u201d Agassi said of Zverev.\u00a0 \u201cYou have to look for ways to get better.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn tennis you\u2019re a car uphill with no brakes. If you\u2019re not going forward, you\u2019re going backwards and I think with Zverev he\u2019s been pretty stubborn with how he wants to do things. It\u2019s always landed him close but not far enough. He\u2019s done something a little different. He\u2019s caught a break with the draw.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old Mensik can bring his best against the best as he showed knocking off No. 1 Jannik Sinner in Doha in February.<\/p>\n
Agassi says if Mensik can make an imposing start \u201cwe might see some magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Zverev is certainly the favorite by a little bit, but Mensik has nothing to lose. Mensik plays better against better players and he plays down sometimes to lesser players,\u201d Agassi said. \u201cSo I think he\u2019s coming out firing and I think Zverev coming out a little nervous.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if he gets out to a good start, creates some scoreboard pressure, we might see some magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 1999 Roland Garros champion Agassi will be part of TNT Sports\u2019 U.S. coverage throughout the rest of Roland Garros this week.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, June 4, 2026Photo credit: Miami Open by Itau Three-time major finalist Alexander Zverev…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":["post-685377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=685377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}