HSBC Championships 2026: Adrian Mannarino upsets third seed Jakub Mensik in the first round
• 3 minute read
Adrian Mannarino battled through a three-set thriller against 20-year-old third seed Jakub Mensik to book a place in the second round on his 11th appearance at The Queen’s Club.
The world No.44 fought back after losing the first set despite a 5-1 lead to take the match 5-7, 6-7(3), 7-6(5) in two hours and 44 minutes on the Andy Murray Arena.
The 37-year-old brings a lot of experience on to the grass, coming into the tournament off the back of a semi-final run at 's-Hertogenbosch – the same tournament where he won his first ATP Tour title in 2019.
The Frenchman, who marked his 700th Tour level match today, also boasts three fourth round appearances at Wimbledon (2013, 2017, 2018) as well as being a former quarter-finalist at The Queen’s Club.
In the second round he’ll face British wild card Arthur Fery, in what will be their first meeting, after he moved past fellow Brit Toby Samuel in straight sets.
“A little bit tired for sure, I’m not that young any more so all these kinds of matches are pretty tough” Mannarino said following the long first round match. “I was able to keep my composure all the way and I think that was most important in the end.”
“I still don’t know how I lost the first set because obviously Jakub was not really into it in the beginning and then I was up 5-1 and I started to think on it a bit too much and I was missing a lot of balls. I was able to keep my nerve after the loss of the first set and then it was a tough battle and it got really close at the end."
Mensik, who's ranked 28 places higher than Mannarino, was kicking off his grass court season at the HSBC Championships but was coming into the tournament in red-hot form after reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros.
Mensik looked unsure early on as he found his feet to the grass. Meanwhile, Mannarino was full of confidence having played four matches on his way to making the semis at ’s-Hertogenbosch, and quickly opened up a double break and a 5-1 lead.
The Czech star began to settle and with Mannarino serving at 5-2, Mensik dug deep to break back and shift the momentum. A dip in the Frenchman’s level - landing just 60% of first serves and winning only 56% (10/18) behind them - allowed Mensik to strike again, reeling off another break and two holds before taking the set on Mannarino’s serve.
Mensik surged 2-0 ahead in the second set, but a double fault opened the door for Mannarino to end his run of eight consecutive games. With little separating them, Mensik relied on his power, firing eight aces but struggling behind his second serve, where he won just 36% (4/11).
With the set heading into a tie-break, Mannarino took control - using flat forehands to disrupt the Czech’s rhythm, he sprinted to a 6-1 lead and, despite late resistance, converted his third set point.
The decider continued to be a close affair, with both players holding comfortably to kick it off. Mensik had the first break chance at 2-2, but Mannarino produced a superb cross-court forehand to save it.
Another tie-break followed, where the Frenchman edged ahead 6-3. Mensik showed his fight, saving two match points, but Mannarino made it third time lucky with a crisp volley - his 32nd winner of the match.
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