Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik: “Clay is in my blood”

ROME, Italy—Just over a month removed from his first Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open, not much has changed for Jakub Mensik.

On the court, anyway.

“The media and fan attention, the crowds, that’s all different,” the 19-year-old told me in his at-times brooding monotone.

“I’m quite enjoying it,” he added, somewhat inexplicably. “It’s super that I can be an inspiration for the others. On the court for me, I’m just locked in…For me, it’s just another tournament, another day at the office.”

The Internazionali BNL d’Italia, then, is not only an opportunity for Mensik to prove that his Miami title was indeed “the first of many,” but also that his game can be just as effective on clay.

True to form, the disarmingly confident Mensik has few concerns about either.

“I’m from Czech Republic,” the Prostejov-born Mensik reminded me. “I’ve been playing my whole life on the clay courts. When I was a kid, I was practicing seven-eight months during the year on clay. Clay is in my blood.

“The last few years, I didn’t play too many clay-court tournaments, but for me, the transition is quite simple. I just need a couple of practices and then I’m feeling pretty confident. My game is big and I’m pretty happy that even on hard courts and clay courts, I’m getting the wins.”

I’ve been playing my whole life on the clay courts. When I was a kid, I was practicing seven-eight months during the year on clay. Clay is in my blood. Jakub Mensik

His first Masters 1000 after Miami saw him become only the fifth teen to reach a Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinal, matching a pace set by the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. He was a tiebreaker away from the semifinals before Francisco Cerundolo roared back in three sets.

Though he’s yet to drop a set at the Foro Italico, Mensik had to draw on fast-rising levels of experience to solve Fabian Marozsan—and fend off a feisty crowd—in two close sets on Monday.

“I was struggling to find myself on the court,” said Mensik, prone to the occasionally poetic turn of phrase. “When you are not feeling comfortable on the court, it’s not that you’re finding excuses, but you’re just not calm.

“In Madrid, the crowd was against me but I was feeling pretty well on the court, so I didn’t pay much attention. Here, I was trying to calm myself down when I wasn’t feeling in rhythm, and the crowd was not helping.”

The No. 20 seed shook off the frustration of having blown a 5-3 lead to restore order in a tiebreaker against Marozsan who, as Mensik made sure to mention, had beaten Joao Fonseca and Andrey Rublev earlier in the week.

“Today, I worked on my mental side a lot, so I’m glad that even when there were a couple of fans that were doing unfair play, I stayed focused,” he said. “I had the opportunity to tell them something, to call them out, and that can sometimes help me to find my best game.”

The 6’4” Mensik was sitting forward in his seat but was almost making himself smaller, arms in his lap and looking down as he gave thoughtful but dense answers to ostensibly straightforward questions. His smile returned once the interview was over and it was then that I wondered if, like on the court, he was still finding himself off it.

“I know that it’s the biggest achievement of my career,” he said of his Miami win, “but I’m trying to improve every tournament, every week, every match.”

Much as Mensik insists things are still the same, he will likely look back on these months as the most formative of his career. And with each rep, he looks more and more ready for the even bigger changes to come.