Jakub Mensik Stun Andrey Rublev to make first ATP tour semi-finals

Jakub Mensik earned his first Top 5 win on Thursday in Doha, where he stunned World No. 5 Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-6(6) to reach his maiden tour-level semi-final.

Mensik was competing in his first tour-level quarter-final having beaten former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the second round in the longest match in tournament history (three hours and 23 minutes).

The 18-year-old backed that up in style, playing aggressively in the crucial moments to stun the top seed Rublev, who went 0/6 on break points in the match.

“It’s just been an incredible week from the beginning I played very well and I knew I could play with the big players. It’s an amazing feeling to reach the semi-finals after beating those good players,” Mensik said.

“But the job is not done yet. Hopefully I can play like this again in the semis tomorrow and go on to make the final.”

With his one-hour, 38-minute win, the 18-year-old jumped to No. 94 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and will make his Top 100 debut on Monday.

Mensik is the youngest player to defeat a Top-5 player since Carlos Alcaraz overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open in 2021. Mensik will continue his title quest against Gael Monfils in the semi-finals.

In a battle between two Frenchmen, wild card Monfils defeated third seed Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-4 to become the oldest semi-finalist in tournament history aged 37 years and five months.

Monfils has won his past seven matches in Doha, lifting the trophy in his previous appearance in 2018. He has also improved to 1-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with five-time tour-level champ Humbert.

Other action saw ,Alexei Popyrin advanced to his third tour-level semi-final and first of 2024, downing fourth seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4. The Australian is chasing his second title this week, after winning in Umag last season.

Karen Khachanov also reached the last four after Finn Emil Ruusuvuori was forced to retire when trailing 0-3 in the first set due to a lower back injury. Khachanov will meet Popyrin on Friday.