ATP roundup: Jakub Mensik advances to semis in Doha, Zverev through in Los Cabos

In Doha, Jakub Mensik (18) from the Czech Republic caused a major upset by defeating the top-seeded Andrey Rublev (26) with a score of 6-4, 7-6(6) on Thursday. This victory has propelled Mensik to the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

Mensik achieved a significant milestone in his career by reaching his first-ever tour-level semi-final. He secured this victory by delivering an impressive performance, firing 10 aces and defeating his Russian opponent in a match that lasted 98 minutes.

Notably, this win against the World No. 5 marked Mensik's first triumph over a top-ranked player. It is worth mentioning that Mensik's achievement is particularly remarkable as he is the youngest player to accomplish this feat since Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the U.S. Open in 2021.

Moving forward, Mensik will face off against France's Gael Monfils as he continues his pursuit of glory. Monfils secured his place in the semi-finals by defeating his compatriot and third-seeded player Ugo Humbert with a score of 6-2, 6-4. Notably, Monfils, at the age of 37, has become the oldest semi-finalist in the history of the tournament.

In another match on Thursday, Australian player Alexei Popyrin emerged victorious with a score of 6-4, 6-4 against fourth-seeded Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan.

Popyrin's next challenge will be against Russian player Karen Khachanov, who was leading 3-0 against Emil Ruusuvuori before the Finnish player retired due to injury.

In the Rio Open, second-seeded Cameron Norrie from Great Britain had a dominant performance, securing a spot in the quarter-finals with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory over Tomas Barrios Vera from Chile. Norrie capitalized on six out of ten break-point opportunities, while his opponent only managed to convert one out of three.

Additionally, Norrie displayed excellent performance in first serve points, winning 16 out of 21 (76 percent), compared to Barrios Vera's six out of 21 (29 percent).

Other notable results include fifth seed Sebastian Baez's win against fellow Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta with a score of 7-6 (1), 6-3, and sixth seed Dusan Lajovic's upset victory over fellow Serbian player Laslo Djere, with a score of 6-2, 7-5.

Furthermore, there were several other winners in the tournament, including Brazil's Joao Fonseca and Thiago Monteiro, both wild-card entrants, Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild, and qualifier Mar.

In the quarter-finals of the Mifel Tennis Open in Los Cabos, Mexico, Australia's Jordan Thompson managed to avoid an upset by coming back from a first-set bagel to defeat the United States' Alex Michelsen with a score of 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5.

Thompson, who was seeded eighth, outperformed Michelsen in terms of aces, leading 6-2, and winners, leading 20-8. He capitalized on all three of his break-point opportunities, while Michelsen only managed to convert five out of 16.

In another match, the fourth-seeded Casper Ruud from Norway comfortably defeated Nuno Borges from Portugal with a score of 6-3, 6-2. Additionally, both Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece and top seed Alexander Zverev secured straight-set victories.