The 2026 French Open is already one for the history books, and not just because there will finally be a new men’s singles Grand Slam champion. In fact, no former champ even reached the round of 16 — the first time that has ever happened in the Open Era.
In addition to all of that, three men 20 years old or younger advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in Grand Slam history — Jakub Mensik, Joao Fonseca, and Rafael Jodar.
Jodar’s run came to an end at the hands of Alexander Zverev on Tuesday, but one of the youngsters was always going to secure a spot in his first slam semi because Mensik and Fonseca went head-to-head on Wednesday. It was Mensik who emerged victorious in that quarterfinal collision, converting his seventh match point at the end of a thrilling third set to finish off the 19-year-old 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(3).
Afterward, Fonseca only had good things to say about the 20-year-old Czech and fellow 2024 NextGen ATP Finals participant.
“His serve is amazing,” the Brazilian praised. “The way he deal with the important points is also really impressive. Yeah, I think he controlled most of the part of the match, serving pretty well and doing the entrance with the return pretty well, as well.
“His return — both first and second serve — are pretty into the court and he puts a lot of pressure on the opponent. Today, yeah, he missed a very small amount of returns. I think that put me in a tough position today. Yeah, I think it was his merit. I tried to put as much as I could on my returns, but he did well the serve and volley. He was serving very good.
“Yeah, I’ll say he has a really good potential. I mean, he already won a Masters. He’s [in] his first (Grand Slam) semifinal. He plays good. Most important, he knows how to play in important moments. He’s not afraid; he has courage. (I) wish him all the best because he’s a nice and humble guy.”
How far can Mensik keep going? Only time will tell, but the fact that he even escaped round two at Roland Garros remains a significant shock. The world No. 27 dealt with serious cramping in an outrageous fifth set against Mariano Navone, but he somehow prevailed over the Argentine 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(13-11) after four hours and 41 minutes. Mensik also beat Andrey Rublev in five in the fourth round.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. As Fonseca referenced, Mensik — at just 19 years old — stunned Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in the 2025 Miami Masters 1000 final. It’s clear that he has always loved the big stage, and he is loving it again at Roland Garros.
Now the question is if Mensik can step up one more time against Alexander Zverev on semifinal Friday — or even twice more en route to his first Grand Slam title.
His coach wouldn’t put it past him.
“I think Jakub is a player that was born for these types of matches, against big players in big stadiums,” Tomas Josefus said in an interview with the ATP Tour. “He loves big challenges and he has shown many times in the past that he’s able to play very well against these top guys. So I’m hoping for a good, quality match and he will be ready against Sascha tomorrow.”