Czech rising star Jakub Mensik hit 11 aces and rode a dominant third set to a 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 upset of No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarterfinals on Thursday in Doha.
The sixth-seeded Mensik won 14 of his 16 first-service points in the third set and 49 of 60 overall (81.7%) while saving 5 of 7 break points in the match. Sinner, who fell in the semifinals of the Australian Open, missed the final in back-to-back starts for the first time since the summer of 2024.
No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain now has a clearer path to the title at the ATP 500 event, though he survived a scare of his own in the quarterfinals when he rallied past Russian seventh seed Karen Khachanov 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3. Alcaraz had a 41-14 edge in winners to overcome his 34 unforced errors.
Alcaraz’s semifinal opponent will be No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, a 6-3, 7-6 (2) winner over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. Mensik will battle Frenchman Arthur Fils, who upset Czech eighth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3.
Delray Beach Open
No. 4 seed Learner Tien hit 20 aces among his 51 winners to fight past Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) in the second round at Delray Beach, Fla.
Kecmanovic saved four match points — one in the 12th game to force a tiebreaker, then three more after going down 6-2 — but he could not save a fifth. Tien’s quarterfinal opponent, No. 8 seed Frances Tiafoe, also needed three sets to turn back qualifier Zachary Svajda 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, saving 5 of 6 break points along the way.
In the evening matches, No. 1 seed Taylor Fritz and No. 5 seed Tommy Paul swept their opponents. Fritz defeated Rafael Jodar of Spain 7-6 (4), 6-4, and Paul topped Australian Adam Walton 7-6 (11), 6-3, saving five set points in the opening-set tiebreaker. Two days earlier, Paul beat France’s Corentin Moutet despite failing to convert on 10 consecutive match points late in the third set.
Rio Open
Portuguese lucky loser Jaime Faria kept his week going by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur 7-6 (1), 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro.
Faria, who hit 26 winners and had to get past 29 unforced errors, is joined in the next round by No. 8 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, who defeated Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas by an identical 7-6 (1), 6-4 scoreline.
In the late matches, Peru’s Ignacio Buse upset third-seeded Joao Fonseca of Brazil 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and Italian Matteo Berrettini took down Serbian lucky loser Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
–Field Level Media
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