Mensik brings down Fonseca to march into the semi-finals of the French Open

[p]Days after collapsing on the ‌red dirt of Paris following his second-round ‌victory in sweltering conditions, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mensik-jakub/UFj257G8/"]Mensik[/a] shone on a cool evening following a spell of rain to ‌book a last-four clash with ⁠title favourite [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Alexander ‌Zverev[/a].[/p][p]"I'm still in the match a little bit,"[b] [/b]Mensik said in his on-court interview after surpassing compatriot Ivan Lendl, who made the 1981 Paris semi-finals at the age of 21.[/p][p][b]"Joao is a great guy and a great competitor. Before the match, I knew it would be a tough one. We started a bit nervous and at the end of the match, there were some incredible shots.[/b][/p][p][b]"I'm super happy I was the one who came back. I managed to stay focused and keep fighting until the end."[/b][/p][image alt="Key stats" id="a1ebd0f9-51fd-409a-bb18-9760a69bbc41" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="8ddc2417-c93a-4609-bafe-25766eebdb1e" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]After four straight holds of serve to kick off ​the contest under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof, the momentum swung when ​Mensik edged ahead with a break, and the 20-year-old Czech stayed firm from there to ⁠win the ​opening set.[/p][p]The ice-cool Mensik tightened his grip on the contest when the second set unfolded in a similar fashion, as the 19-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fonseca-joao/tv073LUc/"]Fonseca[/a]'s serve ‌let him down in a crucial moment and he then struggled to find a way past the wall in front of him.[/p][p]The youngest Roland Garros men's quarter-final since a 20-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nadal-rafael/xUwlUnRK/"]Rafa Nadal[/a] defeated a teenage [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/djokovic-novak/AZg49Et9/"]Novak Djokovic[/a] in 2006 looked in danger of becoming a rout as Mensik bagged the ‌set when his opponent pushed a shot ​wide.[/p][p]With his adoring Brazilian fans stunned and ‌the frustration rising, Fonseca came out firing in the third set, but was broken when serving for it at 5-4. Mensik drew level before wasting six match ⁠points and eventually ⁠prevailing via a ‌tiebreak.[/p][embed guid="fb37e1d5-2e38-4a80-bcee-fbd5119dd92f" url="https://x.com/rolandgarros/status/2061921506691555341" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"The last game and tiebreak was one of my best performances so far," [/b]added Mensik, who was mentored during his junior days by Djokovic.[/p][p][b]"A couple of match points I didn't know if the ball was out or in... It was really tough to stay focused until the end and I'm really happy that I managed to come back in the tiebreak and move my game a little bit forward."[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/fonseca-j-tv073LUc/mensik-j-UFj257G8/?mid=xfKv2kTb"]Click here for more on the match[/a][/b][/p]