“They are superior to us in every way”: Jakub Mensik opens up on chasing tennis’ new Kings — Alcaraz and Sinner

Czech Republic’s young tennis star Jakub Mensik has opened up about competing with the likes of Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz and Sinner have dominated men’s tennis from the start of 2024 as they have shared the last eight Grand Slams.

Ever since they started dominating men’s tennis, there has been an active discussion about which other player will be able to lift their game and compete against players who have faced each other in three out of the four Grand Slam finals in 2025. They first faced off in the final of the French Open, where Alcaraz snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and came out on top in a five-set thriller with a score of 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6.

During that match, Sinner had three championship points in the fourth set but failed to capitalise on any one of them eventually came second-best in a match that lasted more than five hours and officially became the second-longest final in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era. Their next meeting was in the final at Wimbledon, where Sinner managed to get the revenge he was looking for as he defeated Alcaraz with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Their third and most recent meeting in the final of a Grand Slam came in New York, where Alcaraz once again came out on top with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

One of the players who has managed to lift his game and is now being discussed amongst the possible candidates to push the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner all the way in the near future in the Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik. The 20-year-old is having an impressive season, having won 28 of 45 matches.

His form has dipped a bit lately, as he has not been able to cement a spot in the quarterfinals of any event since the Madrid Open back in May. Before that, Mensik was having a very good time on the court, where he went on to lift his maiden ATP 1000 title in Miami, defeating the 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets, 7-6, 7-6.

On his way to the title, Mensik defeated some big-name players, including the likes of sixth-seed Britain’s Jack Draper in the second round, fellow countryman Tomas Machac in the fourth round, France’s Arthur Fils in the quarter and America’s Taylor Fritz in the semifinal.

Mensik has recently been quoted in a report in which he admitted that the gap is between the likes of Alcaraz, Sinner, and the rest of the players in men’s tennis. Mensik was of the opinion that, despite a significant gap between him and the two best players in the world, his focus is to learn from them and improve in the near future.

"Right now, Alcaraz and Sinner are the best, and there's a big gap with the others,” admitted Mensik. “We're trying to reach them... but they are superior to us in every way. Their consistency, their style of play, every shot they produce makes the difference. They are on another level. You can learn a lot from them in training. Facing them for the first time would help me understand how they react in every situation."

Mensik then went on to highlight that the success in Miami did not make him lose focus on his goal of becoming one of the best players in the world, and he continues his work towards achieving that goal. "Fans and journalists start talking about you, and your matches get much more attention,” said Mensik. “But that doesn't mean you're at the level of the best. I have no expectations for my career. I'm only focused on my work."