#NextGenATP Mensik earns standout win, Kokkinakis upsets Tsitsipas at US Open

#NextGenATP Czech Jakub Mensik clinched a statement win on Tuesday at the US Open, where he upset World No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to record his third Top 20 win.

The 18-year-old earned a major breakthrough in New York last year when he reached the third round at Flushing Meadows on his Grand Slam debut. Twelve months on and at No. 65 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Mensik once again put on a show to dispatch Canadian Auger-Aliassime after two hours and four minutes and reach the second round.

Mensik won 89 per cent (40/45) of his first-serve points and fired 25 winners to level the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. He will next play Australian wild card Tristan Schoolkate or Japan’s Taro Daniel.

Mensik has enjoyed an impressive season, highlighted by his run to the final in Doha. The 18-year-old is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and aiming to make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in December.

Auger-Aliassime reached the semi-finals at the US Open in 2021. The Canadian’s best result this season was a run to the title match at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid.

In other action, Thanasi Kokkinakis upset World No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the second round at the US Open for the first time.

The Australian fired 47 winners to Tsitsipas’ 44 to seal victory after a three-hour, 55-minute battle. Kokkinakis, who next plays Nuno Borges or Federico Coria, is making his third appearance at the hard-court major.

Tsitsipas fell to Alcaraz in a five-set epic in New York in 2021 and has since gone 1-3 at the major. The Greek has struggled to find his best form during the North American hard-court swing, going 1-3 across Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open.

Photo Credit: Getty Images
#NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen reached the final in Winston-Salem last week and backed up that run by cruising past countryman Eliot Spizzirri 6-1, 7-5, 6-3. The 20-year-old will face top seed Jannik Sinner or American Mackenzie McDonald in the second round.

Michelsen, currently second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, advanced to the second round on his debut at the US Open last year.

Jack Draper also advanced after China's Zhang Zhizhen was forced to retire. The British lefty was leading 6-3, 6-0, 4-0 when Zhang ended the contest after 70 minutes. Former Top 10 star David Goffin was another Day 2 winner. The Belgian beat 22nd seed Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(7), 6-1, 7-5 to advance to the last 64 in New York for the first time since 2020.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]