Jakub Mensik won the next-generation battle against Joao Fonseca to set up a French Open semi-final against title favourite Alexander Zverev.
Brazilian Fonseca has lit up the tournament with his electrifying brand of power tennis, knocking out Novak Djokovic in the third round and showing that the hype that has followed him around for the last two years is fully justified.
But, aside from saving six match points in a remarkable game, the 19-year-old could not summon up the same magic here and instead it was 20-year-old Mensik who won 6-4 6-3 7-6 (3) to become the youngest Czech man ever to reach a grand slam semi-final.
That appeared hugely unlikely last Wednesday when Mensik lay on the clay racked with cramp after a gruelling victory over Mariano Navone, virtually collapsing into a wheelchair as the heat took its toll.
But he has rebounded brilliantly, recovering from losing the first set to love against Alex De Minaur and then coming through another five-setter against Andrey Rublev two days ago.
Mensik and Fonseca’s combined 39 years made this the most youthful last-eight clash here since Rafael Nadal defeated Djokovic back in 2006, and the yellow shirts dotted around Court Philippe Chatrier showed who was the fan favourite.
Three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten, the last Brazilian winner, again supported his countryman from the front row, but the closed roof amid storms in Paris favoured the flatter-hitting Czech.
Mensik lacks the flair – and forehand – of his more hyped opponent but he has been the leader of the youngest generation in both ranking and results having won a Masters 1000 title in Miami and reached a high of 12 in the world – while he was the last man to beat Jannik Sinner until this fortnight.
His game is based around a precision serve that a frustrated Fonseca did not come near to breaking for two sets, while Mensik’s net play was superb.
A single break of serve in the fifth game decided the opening set and, when Mensik broke Fonseca again at the same stage of the second from 40-0, finishing with a delicate angled drop volley, it was a hammer blow to the Brazilian.
Fonseca could take confidence from twice having come back from two sets to love down this fortnight, including against Djokovic, and he was presented with a foothold in the contest in the opening game of the third when Mensik suddenly lost his rhythm on serve and double-faulted three times.
The Czech began to show signs of the physical toll this run has taken, stretching out his left leg, but Fonseca could not extend the contest to a fourth set.
He had a set point serving at 5-4 after giving away and then retrieving his break before that marathon 12th game – had Mensik not won, he would have had nightmares about a missed overhead on the second match point.
But Mensik played a superb tie-break and made no mistake when a seventh chance arrived, dinking a backhand beyond Fonseca’s reach.
“At the end of the match there were some incredible shots and I’m super happy I’m the one who came back in the third set,” said the 26th seed.
Fonseca’s exit followed that of fellow teenager Rafael Jodar, who briefly threatened to derail Zverev but was ruthlessly dismissed in the end.
The 19-year-old Spaniard has been one of the stories of the tournament with his run to the last eight, but he will not be emulating famous namesake Rafael Nadal by winning the title on his debut, with second seed Zverev easing to a 7-6 (3) 6-1 6-3 victory.
The German, who has now made at least the semi-finals here in five of the last six years, will surely never have a better chance to break his grand slam duck.
From 5-2 down in the opening set, Zverev lost only five games, and he insists the crucial factor will be the belief he has in himself.
“I think I really have to trust my game, and I have to trust my tennis and trust myself,” he said. “If I play well, then I think that’s 99 per cent of the work.”
