ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2026

Jakub Mensik

Press Conference

J. MENSIK/A. de Minaur

0-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Jakub, how were you able to turn around the match after that first set?

JAKUB MENSIK: Yeah, well, it was not easy, obviously. After the previous match that I had, obviously after that match, I had zero energy inside of me, which I took yesterday's recovery day as best as I could to prepare myself for another battle.

Obviously, I wouldn't say that I was feeling 100%. It more looked like I was still cramping in the first set (smiling).

No, I mean, jokes aside, generally it's been a tough day, because obviously physically what I had in my legs in previous match, also mental, you know, playing against someone who is basically running around the court, not giving you any mistakes, no free points, especially with someone that I didn't beat before.

So it was really, really difficult to came into that match. But, yeah, the first set it looked like more than my body needed to, again, turn on, because obviously -- not obviously, but I would say that still yesterday I was still feeling a little bit more of adrenaline, that my body was feeling, I would say, better than today.

Yeah, so I needed just some time to really to turn on the engine, I would say. And then of course I catch the rhythm. I catch the tempo. And then I'm just happy that all the three sets that I won, I didn't give him any chance to came back to the match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. I'm kind of in awe of you, that you came back and did what you did today. Can you just tell us what the last 48 hours have been like in terms of what your recovery has involved? Has it been the most extreme depths you have had to go to in terms of recovery in that time?

JAKUB MENSIK: Yeah. Normally I would say that recovery day, it's like chilling and basically doing nothing. But I did a lot of things, I would say, in last, like I said, 48 hours. Obviously the first day it was just more about to calm my body down, because obviously after the cramps and actually, you know, super dehydrations, I needed to put as much fluids as I could inside of me.

The next day, of course, it was more to recover my body physically, of course do some cardio, because I still needed to keep my body up, to put the lactate from my legs and from my body to put back into the energy that I needed today.

Of course a lot of things that me and my team did, which I'm happy for that, that we did a great job, and that I came back strong enough to compete again on the highest level and in this these very cruel conditions.

Q. Could you tell us what you said to yourself at the end of that first set? He was playing lights out. You won five points in that set. Was there a feeling that there is no way back in this, or did you always think I'm going to win this?

JAKUB MENSIK: Yeah, like I said, in that first set, I was really, like, it was super tough for me to really, just in the warmup before the match, to turn my body on again, basically when I was off for those 48 hours, even if I tried to kept the energy and tried to boost myself.

But still, I needed some proper time in the match to get back into the match tempo, which is completely different than the practice, than the warmup, than anything else.

So I don't even know, like, what was happening in the first set. I was really, like, mentally inside of me, just like me in myself, and after the first set, after the toilet break, I just let it out, and then I was not just in myself but everywhere.

Q. Is there any chance that maybe in this tournament you're proving yourself that you're even stronger than you might have thought? Did you know you could dig that deep?

JAKUB MENSIK: Yeah. I mean, of course this tournament especially, you know, test me physically so far, which I'm super happy with that, that of course it's, you know, one thing is to win a five-set match basically, nearly five hours.

Yeah, it's good. You know, you physically maintain to do it, but then, on the other side, in 48 hours, there is another match, and it could be the same long, even maybe longer.

So of course after the past, I remember a couple of five-set matches that I was really destroyed with my body, and then on the other day, it was so difficult for me to do any movement.

Of course the recovery after a win, it's better, but still, like I said, after this match to came back with physically and mentally still strong, it's something that I really appreciate, and that is something that we worked a lot. I'm happy that I found out that, you know, I can manage to do it.

Q. What's the game plan when you go up against someone like Alex who can run really fast like that and run all day, seemingly? What do you try and do to overcome a player like that, especially one who's been around for a while and has a lot of experience here?

JAKUB MENSIK: Yeah, Alex, obviously he's a great guy, and we've played already a lot of matches, so it was not like something that I don't know what is going on, because we already played couple of matches. We basically know each other pretty well on the court, of course.

Yeah, the game plan, of course Alex, you can see that he's one of the best players in this deal, so basically when you are attacking, he's basically everywhere, he's super fast, one of the fastest players on the tour.

So, yeah, obviously especially I would say that these conditions helped me a little bit, you know, bouncing a little bit higher, a little bit faster. Even if it is clay, I would say not his favorite surface, but still, I came up with a game plan, which obviously I will not tell you, but I tried my best to keep it. I would say that second, third, and fourth set, I managed to do it well.

Q. This isn't a question specifically for this match but your career in general. Can you tell me what it feels like to be nervous? Like, what are the symptoms in your body? Is it a knot in your stomach? Do your hands shake? Do your legs feel heavy?

JAKUB MENSIK: Good question. I mean, I can talk about it for a while, but nervous, basically you got me here (smiling).

No, of course before the match, I don't know, in the past, like, say I'm in the school, obviously you feel nervous, you know, and something different is to feel nervous, and feeling afraid, which it's two different things. But yeah, when I'm nervous, like you said, I feel little butterflies in my stomach. I would say my mind is a little bit, you know, everywhere, not just in the exact moment.

Yeah, I would say that I'm managing to be calm in those situations and to try to, you know, be in that moment as long as I can, but when I'm nervous, it's actually a good thing.