Mensik hands sixth seed Ruud awakening
ONLY a day removed from Joao Fonseca‘s stunning debut Slam victory over Andrey Rublev, another top seed has fallen at the hands of an emerging teen at the Australian Open. This time, sixth seed Casper Ruud was felled by Jakob Mensik in just under three hours, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
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The rising Czech star sent down 22 aces and won 71 per cent of his first service points, averaging a thunderous speed of 203km/h. Matching such power and accuracy in his groundstrokes, Mensik also blasted 62 winners to blow his higher ranked Norwegian counterpart off the court.
It was the 19-year-old’s fifth win against a top 10 opponent in nine tries, and comes on the back of his victory over Ben Shelton en route to the ASB Classic quarter-finals in Auckland last week. Ranked 48th in the world, Mensik will next take on Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round.
Elsewhere on day four, other top seeds had no such trouble advancing to the next stage. 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic [7], who is gunning for his 100th career title, needed four sets and three hours to dispatch Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.
Also on Rod Laver Arena, second seed Alexander Zverev made quick work of Pedro Martinez to win 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 in under two hours. Four-time Grand Slam winner seed Carlos Alcaraz was even more dominant in a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
Despite three seeds falling on day four, Briton Jack Draper survived the cull in a five-set epic against local favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis. The 15th seed came from two sets to one down, and broke the Aussie to love when serving for the match in the fourth set in front of a vibrant John Cain Arena crowd.
Two more Australian men were bundled out yesterday, with 27th seed Jordan Thompson and James Duckworth both going down in straight sets. Aleksandar Vukic got one back for the home crowd though, defeating Sebastian Korda [22] in five sets to set up a clash against Draper.
Those who flocked to Court 7 were treated to a five-set epic across just under five hours, as Davidovich Fokina came back from two sets down to topple 29th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. There was one retirement on day four, with Hugo Gaston pulling up during the second set against Jiri Lehecka [24].
>> DAY THREE: Rublev rolled by sensational Slam debutant
AUSTRALIAN OPEN MEN’S RESULTS: DAY FOUR
N. Djokovic [7] def. J. Faria [Q] 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
A. Zverev [2] def. P. Martinez 6-1, 6-4, 6-1
C. Alcaraz [3] def. Y. Nishioka 6-0, 6-1, 6-4
J. Mensik def. C. Ruud [6] 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
N. Borges def. J. Thompson [27] 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
J. Draper [15] def. T. Kokkinakis 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
A. Vukic def. S. Korda [22] 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
T. Machac [26] def. R. Opelka 3-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4
T. Paul [12] def. K. Nishikori 6-7, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1
R. Carballes Baena def. J. Duckworth 6-4, 6-2, 7-5
U. Humbert [14] def. H. Habib [Q] 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
J. Fearnley def. A. Cazaux 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3
J. Lehecka [24] def. H. Gaston (RET) 6-3, 3-1
A. Fils [20] def. Q. Halys 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, 7-5
A. Davidovich Fokina def. F. Auger-Aliassime [29] 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
B. Bonzi def. F. Passaro [LL] 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4