{"id":685993,"date":"2026-06-05T13:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T13:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/685993\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T13:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T13:06:09","slug":"jakub-mensiks-tennis-rise-is-built-on-calmness-under-pressure-to-find-it-he-had-to-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/685993\/","title":{"rendered":"Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s tennis rise is built on calmness under pressure. To find it, he had to practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 French Open men\u2019s semifinals.<\/a><\/p>\n

PARIS \u2014 Last spring, Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk<\/a>\u2019s rise felt inevitable.<\/p>\n

He had just beaten Novak Djokovic<\/a> to win the Miami Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event the rung below the Grand Slams. The 19-year-old from the Czech Republic was oozing confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I focus, if everything is good, if I\u2019m healthy I can really beat anyone on the court,\u201d Men\u0161\u00edk, one of a clutch of players in their late teens and early twenties trying to challenge Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> and Novak Djokovic, said in an interview ahead of the Madrid Open last April, a few weeks after that Miami success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hungry. We want to play against the best players in the world. We want to show them that we are here. It\u2019s like a boost of energy for us to compete on the biggest courts in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Men\u0161\u00edk, now 20, is 6 feet 5 inches with an imposing frame and pale blue eyes, and moves with a low-key self assurance that he is destined for big things. On Friday, he takes on world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, the last player standing from the 1990s generation overtaken by Alcaraz and Sinner, in the French Open semifinals. For both players, a first Grand Slam title could be a couple of matches away.<\/p>\n

Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s path from that Miami Open win to this deep run at Roland Garros has not been straightforward. He has had injury setbacks, as well as a run of early Grand Slam exits with a pattern of agonizing five-set defeats. He went out in the second round of last year\u2019s French Open and U.S. Open, and lost at Wimbledon in the third round.<\/p>\n

When Men\u0161\u00edk did make it to the second week of a major for the first time, at January\u2019s Australian Open, he had to withdraw from his fourth-round match against Djokovic because of an abdominal muscle issue. In the run-up to this tournament, an infection on his right big toe kept him out of the Monte Carlo Masters, which was immediately followed by a viral illness. He reached the Madrid Open quarterfinals in his next event, losing in three sets to Friday\u2019s opponent Zverev, but then won only one match combined at the Italian Open and the Hamburg Open in Germany.<\/p>\n

Over the past couple of weeks, something has clicked. Men\u0161\u00edk nearly lost to Mariano Navone of Argentina in the second round, and was forced to leave the court in a wheelchair after a near-five-hour, five-set win played in searing heat. Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s recovery since, including another five-setter against No. 11 seed Andrey Rublev, has been extraordinary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe arrived here in Paris, and he was very, very focused,\u201d his coach Tom\u00e1\u0161 Josefus said during an interview Thursday at the practice courts in the Paris Jean-Bouin club, a few minutes from Roland Garros. \u201cHe looked very, very promising and very good during practice sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josefus, a former world No. 363 also from the Czech Republic, has known Men\u0161\u00edk, Kuba to his inner circle, since he was eight years old, and been his main coach since he was 14.<\/p>\n

He describes a conviction in Men\u0161\u00edk that is not typical of their compatriots. \u201cWe come from Czechia and I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s part of our mentality, but usually for us in our country it\u2019s not so typical, let\u2019s say. If we compare average mentality in our country and average mentality, for example, in the United States, it\u2019s a big difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom an early age he\u2019s different, because he really trusts the process and he knows his abilities. It\u2019s not like a role that he\u2019s playing, being self-confident. It\u2019s natural, because again, he knows that he\u2019s doing a lot of things. He knows that is doing a lot for the game of tennis. And if you know that you are doing a lot of good things and you are a good player, from that it\u2019s like a natural self-confidence, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dragan Vujovi\u010d, Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s mental coach since he was only 13 years old, frames things slightly differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe closes his eyes, he relaxes and then he prepares visually for the match where he imagines different points in different moments and he\u2019s always winning those points,\u201d Vujovi\u010d said in a video interview last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always enters the match with a winning intention. And a lot of players enter the match with a very foggy, unclear intent. They will say, \u2018Well, I will do my best today. I\u2019m not feeling too well and he beat me twice before. He\u2019s much better ranked player than me.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cJakub doesn\u2019t have thoughts like that. He follows his sincere desire. That\u2019s a champion. Sincere desire is a thousand times stronger than self-confidence.<\/p>\n

After those difficult five-set losses at previous majors, Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s conviction has been evident throughout this tournament, especially during Tuesday\u2019s quarterfinal against Jo\u00e3o Fonseca. Men\u0161\u00edk missed six match points up 6-5 in the third set, including one when he had a very makeable smash, but instantly shrugged off the disappointment to roll through a tiebreak and wrap up a straight-sets win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way he deals with the important points is really impressive,\u201d Fonseca said in a news conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows how to play in important moments. He\u2019s not afraid. He has courage, and I wish him all the best because he\u2019s a nice and humble guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Men\u0161\u00edk has had some other big mental wins during his career. He beat France\u2019s Alexandre M\u00fcller in front of a hostile Roland Garros crowd last year, and asked the fans to make more noise like a musical conductor after winning the third set. His Miami Open win saw Men\u0161\u00edk win seven out of seven tiebreaks in his five matches.<\/p>\n

Vujovi\u010d said he and Men\u0161\u00edk have developed techniques to help him stay calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the match he has a special technique for his serve, a special mental technique for return,\u201d Vujovi\u010d said. When Men\u0161\u00edk is having serve difficulties, he puts his fingers together which helps keep him calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a special mental technique for concentration and inner calmness between the points, a special technique to correct the mistake. A special technique if he loses a set to do the so-called mental shower to change the condition he\u2019s in and correct everything. So he\u2019s got a whole set of tools and he knows exactly what to do mentally at any point in the match, before, during the match and after.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a U.S. Open qualifying match against Italy\u2019s Fabio Fognini in 2023, a 17-year-old Men\u0161\u00edk was able to take a toilet break and reset after losing the first set 6-1. He won the match 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 and ended up reaching the third round.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe goes into this relaxed level, he closes his eyes, and he tells his brain, describes what was inadequate, and then he gives the brain a command how he wants to play \u2014 the adequate, the so-called correct things he wants to do in the remaining part of the match,\u201d Vujovi\u010d said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why he always comes out and the other guy says, \u2018What happened to this guy? What did he do while he was on the toilet?\u2019 That\u2019s a technique that he always does after a lost set. To reset himself to change the undesired things, to change the incorrect shots or the incorrect physical movements.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter he beat Djokovic in Miami, there was a commentator on TV saying, \u2018This guy is so calm and so young.\u2019 And the other person said, \u2018Well, he probably has it in his genes.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have it in these genes. He\u2019s been practising this for six years. It has become a very strong habit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Men\u0161\u00edk said last year in Madrid that: \u201cA lot of things that he (Vujovi\u010d) taught me, I\u2019m using that always on the courts, off the court as well. During the years I\u2019m working with him, you can see a very big improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jakub<\/p>\n

\n Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s serve is his most potent weapon. (Thomas Samson \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s focus on his on-court strengths, especially his serve, backhand and movement, is just as meticulous. Josefus is a big advocate of the importance of data and, on Djokovic\u2019s recommendation, used the same analytics company that the 24-time Grand Slam champion does \u2014 Gotta Tennis. Josefus now works with a couple of data and strategy companies, and said that Men\u0161\u00edk has embraced data like he has. Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s father works in the information technology industry and helped Josefus manually tag Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s junior matches and scrape data when he was in his early teens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember very well the situation when I introduced this type of work with advanced data. And his answer was, \u2018Hey coach, if I will have this type of information, I can\u2019t lose. I can\u2019t lose,\u201d Josefus said during a video interview last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost players are very well prepared technically. But 90 percent of the time, it\u2019s about the strategy. So it\u2019s how to serve, where to serve under pressure, first serve, second serve, how to mix it up. What is this speed and spin? Where is the location or where is the contact points of opponents\u2019 returns and this type of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Men\u0161\u00edk typically favors a kick serve with his second serve, and thinks more about where to put it than how hard to hit it.<\/p>\n

With the serve and backhand so well established, a priority this season has been improving Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s relatively mediocre forehand. \u201cThe forehand has been improving and I\u2019m super happy,\u201d Josefus said Thursday. \u201cWe actually made some technical corrections during the clay season. He was able to add some kilometers per hour and some spin on it. His forehand has more variety, he\u2019s able to open up the court more here in Paris, which is super important on clay.\u201d<\/p>\n

This has been visible during Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s run, with the combination of high bounce (in the first week\u2019s heat) and slow conditions (in the cooler weather during the second) suiting his strike zone and contact point.<\/p>\n

He has also been getting to the net more frequently, based on the simple calculation that it\u2019s typical for players to win around 50 percent of their baseline points, compared to around two out of three of ones at the net.<\/p>\n

A creature of habit, Men\u0161\u00edk has also established some superstitions during the French Open fortnight. After each practice, he and the team get out a small football and have a little kick-about. Before every match, he and Josefus play the same card game in the locker room, and on days off the whole team play another card game \u2014 but always the same one.<\/p>\n

With everything working well, Men\u0161\u00edk has no inclination to change his routine ahead of facing Zverev. Though he departed from an annual tradition at the end of last year by not writing out his goals for the upcoming season and putting them on his fridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the tournament is going, I\u2019m playing better and better,\u201d Men\u0161\u00edk said in a news conference after beating Fonseca.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited for the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 French Open men\u2019s semifinals. PARIS \u2014 Last spring, Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":685994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[99,428],"class_list":["post-685993","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\/685993","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=685993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/685994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}