Mensik survives five-set firefight with British wildcard Samuel
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LONDON, June 30 : Czech dark horse Jakub Mensik survived a huge scare as the 15th seed needed five sets to subdue British wildcard Toby Samuel in a fierce first-round fight at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old French Open semi-finalist looked out on his feet near the end of a gripping contest but had just enough in the tank to carve out a 5-7 6-3 6-3 3-6 7-6(7) victory.
“It was a tough one, Toby played some unbelievable tennis that he also showed in Eastbourne last week and he didn’t give me any free points,” a weary Mensik said on Court Three.
“I’m just super happy that I kept it on my side. Every story has its own journey and happy that I’m in the second round.”
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Mensik is regarded as one of the rising forces in the sport and became the youngest Czech in the professional era to reach a Grand Slam semi-final with his run in Paris that was only stopped by eventual champion Alexander Zverev.
The 123rd-ranked Samuel made his Grand Slam debut at the French Open as a qualifier and impressed last week at Eastbourne with his first Tour-level semi-final but faced a formidable challenge at his first Wimbledon.
DECIDING TIEBREAK
Samuel looked completely at home though as he took the opening set on a Mensik double fault only for Mensik to stamp his authority in the next two sets with some dazzling tennis.
A single service break for Samuel took the match into a deciding set full of momentum shifts.
After a depressing first round for British players, the crowd were desperate for a hero and Samuel looked about to play the role as he got 3-1 ahead in the fifth.
Mensik appeared to be cramping at times and struggling with his arm but rattled off four straight games though to lead 5-3, only to falter when serving for the match and find himself dragged into a deciding 10-point tiebreak.
There was nothing between them but Mensik got a mini-break with a well-constructed point and then got to three match points thanks to the rare gift of a Samuel double fault.
Samuel saved one, but Mensik sealed victory at the second time of asking with a heavy serve, pointing his finger to his head as he walked wearily to the net.
“I was two sets to one ahead and then out of nowhere it’s a fifth set,” Mensik said. “Then serving for the match at 5-3 and he came back with a couple of lucky shots. It’s scary how in one second it can be a game-changer.”
Samuel’s defeat means 15 of the 19 British players who started in the first round have lost.
Source: Reuters
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