By Martyn Herman
LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) – Czech dark horse Jakub Mensik survived a huge scare as the 15th seed needed five sets to subdue British wildcard Toby Samuel in a fierce first-round fight at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old French Open semi-finalist looked out on his feet near the end of a gripping contest but had just enough in the tank to carve out a 5-7 6-3 6-3 3-6 7-6(7) victory.
“It was a tough one, Toby played some unbelievable tennis that he also showed in Eastbourne last week and he didn’t give me any free points,” a weary Mensik said on Court Three.
“I’m just super happy that I kept it on my side. Every story has its own journey and happy that I’m in the second round.”
Mensik is regarded as one of the rising forces in the sport and became the youngest Czech in the professional era to reach a Grand Slam semi-final with his run in Paris that was only stopped by eventual champion Alexander Zverev.
The 123rd-ranked Samuel made his Grand Slam debut at the French Open as a qualifier and impressed last week at Eastbourne with his first Tour-level semi-final but faced a formidable challenge at his first Wimbledon.
DECIDING TIEBREAK
Samuel looked completely at home though as he took the opening set on a Mensik double fault only for Mensik to stamp his authority in the next two sets with some dazzling tennis.
A single service break for Samuel took the match into a deciding set full of momentum shifts.
After a depressing first round for British players, the crowd were desperate for a hero and Samuel looked about to play the role as he got 3-1 ahead in the fifth.
Mensik appeared to be cramping at times and struggling with his arm but rattled off four straight games though to lead 5-3, only to falter when serving for the match and find himself dragged into a deciding 10-point tiebreak.
There was nothing between them but Mensik got a mini-break with a well-constructed point and then got to three match points thanks to the rare gift of a Samuel double fault.
Samuel saved one, but Mensik sealed victory at the second time of asking with a heavy serve, pointing his finger to his head as he walked wearily to the net.
“I was two sets to one ahead and then out of nowhere it’s a fifth set,” Mensik said. “Then serving for the match at 5-3 and he came back with a couple of lucky shots. It’s scary how in one second it can be a game-changer.”
Samuel’s defeat means 15 of the 19 British players who started in the first round have lost.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Alison Williams)
