Jakub Mensik reveals concerns after victory at the French Open.

Jakub Mensik staged an epic battle at the French Open, needing seven match points to defeat João Fonseca and secure his first semi-final spot in a Grand Slam. However, the Czech player revealed moments of true fear due to an injury that nearly prevented him from progressing further in the tournament.

In the quarter-finals, Mensik started strong, breaking serve in each of the first two sets to take a comfortable 2-0 lead. However, discomfort in his left leg began to manifest at the end of the second set and into the third, when the world number 27 lost focus, dropping serve in the very first game of the third set. The match became dramatic, with both players exchanging breaks until the tie-break, where Mensik finally triumphed 7-3, closing the match with scores of 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.

Although he seemed to have overcome the physical issue during the match, the player did not hide his concern in the post-match press conference. Visibly affected by cramps, Mensik admitted: “I had a bad movement and no, I’m fine. Sorry.” When asked about the injury, he confessed that the sensation left him “scared” and that he thought, “what is this?”.

“During the first two sets, I controlled the game perfectly, both on serve and return, I was calm and focused, the momentum was on my side,” the Czech player explained. “Unfortunately, at the end of the second set, I started to feel discomfort in my left leg, which was bothering me during my serve. Of course, I was scared, but fortunately, it was just a muscle cramp. That ended up affecting my concentration, and the start of the third set wasn’t how I wanted it to be. As the set progressed and the intensity increased, the pain began to diminish until it was almost gone, which made me very happy that it wasn’t anything serious. After that, I was able to refocus and play my best tennis.”

Mensik is now preparing to face Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, scheduled for this Friday. The Czech player, who has already reached 12th place in the ATP ranking, recently climbed to 17th position in the live standings, and a victory over Zverev could catapult him to 11th place, with a potential title win pushing him into the top 10.

This revelation about Mensik’s physical condition adds an extra dimension to his surprising run at the French Open, leaving fans in suspense regarding his performance against one of the tournament favorites. The young Czech will need to overcome not only a formidable opponent but also his physical limits to continue writing a memorable story in world tennis.

This article first appeared on [Apito Final](https://apitofinal.pt/).

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