PARIS/WASHINGTON, June 3, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Regardless of the outcome between 19-year-old Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik, 20, of Czechia, youth would be served at the French Open Tuesday evening.
In the youngest Roland-Garros men’s quarterfinal since Rafael Nadal, 20, defeated Novak Djokovic, 19, in 2006, the 26th-seeded Mensik outlasted No. 28 seed Fonseca, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (3), in two hours and 44 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier with the roof closed due to earlier rain and inclement weather.
The quiet and measured Mensik prevailed on his seventh match-point opportunity to become the first man born in 2004 or later to reach the last four of a Grand Slam tournament.
Czechmate♟️ #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/TD7xvwdeW0
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2026
In reaching his first major semifinal, Mensik became the first Czech men’s semifinalist at a Grand Slam since Tomas Berdych in 2017 at Wimbledon and the youngest Czech Grand Slam men’s singles semifinalist in history.
Fonseca, who had already captured victories against 24-time major champion Djokovic – a three-time French Open champion – and two-time former Roland-Garros finalist Casper Ruud, in consecutive matches earlier during the Parisian fortnight while wearing his emotions on his sleeve, gave it all he had and showed remarkable courage in fighting off six match points during the third set.
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However, Mensik, who throughout the last-eight skirmish took control of the match from the baseline, was the steadier player during the third-set tie-break – after squandering six match-point opportunities during a 20-point 12th game – and ultimately put the match away to continue his remarkable run on red clay in Paris. In a battle of big hitters, Mensik came through to win – and keeps his hopes alive of winning his first Grand Slam title.
“We started a little bit nervous, then at the end of the match, there were some incredible shots,” Mensik said during his on-court interview. “I’m super happy that I came back. In the third set, I was a couple of breaks down, so I’m happy I managed to stay focused and keep fighting until the end.”
Mensik gets the win on his 7th match point 👊#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/V2WeEKAc90
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2026
Mensik finished the quarterfinal with 49 overall winners – including 11 service aces – and overcame 39 unforced errors. He converted five of 21 break-point opportunities and saved three of five break points he faced from Fonseca. The Brazilian finished with 39 winners and committed 38 unforced errors. Mensik outpointed Fonseca 117-111.
Like Fonseca, who will leave Paris ranked 25th in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Mensik carried a heavy workload coming into the quarterfinal. He survived a pair of five-setters earlier in the tournament – but would not need to go the distance against Fonseca in order to advance.
“The last game and the tie-break were [some] of my best performances so far,” said Mensik after collecting his 23rd win of the season, including his eighth on clay. “It was really tough to stay focused until the end. A couple of match points … I’m happy I managed to come back in the tie-break and still move my game a little forward.”
Muito bem João 🇧🇷#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/wFViirbpNT
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2026
In Friday’s semifinal round, Mensik, who has moved up seven spots to No. 20 in the live rankings, will face World No. 3 and second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, who earlier Tuesday ended the dream run of 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar. Zverev defeated the 29th-ranked Jodar, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3, in two hours and 10 minutes.
Zverev will bring a 1-0 head-to-head lead into the semifinal after defeating Mensik in the round of 16 at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid earlier this season.
“As the tournament is going, I’m playing better and better,” Mensik said during his post-match news conference. “Even with the match with Sascha in Madrid, of course, it was a close one. It was best of three. Right now, it’s a different situation, semifinals. I would say a bigger match, best of five. I’m excited for the challenge.”
A first semi-final ticket was on the line, relive the Fonseca vs Mensik match in our highlights by @emirates ✈️#RolandGarros #Emirates #FlyBetter pic.twitter.com/1AEBFYLOCh
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2026
Tuesday’s Roland-Garros results
Wednesday’s Roland-Garros order of play
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By the numbers
Jakub Mensik is the fifth Czech men’s semifinalist at Roland-Garros in the Open Era. He joins Jan Kodes (1970-71), Ivan Lendl (1981, 1984-87), Petr Korda (1992) and Tomas Berdych (2010).
“Quotable …”
“I would say [it was] tough and so much was expected from both of us, from the audience and from everyone. I’m super happy with the performance overall. I mean, 20, 30 minutes of the match, it was just a really insane level from both of us and at key moments.
“Even after those match points when I didn’t manage to take them, when I was 6-5 up, I’m happy that I stayed mentally focused and calm and managed to level up my game in the tie-break and be the one who managed to take it.”
– Jakub Mensik of Czechia, during his post-match news conference after defeating Joao Fonseca to advance to his first Grand Slam semifinal.
