Karen Khachanov Ends Young Czech Jakub Mensik’s Fairytale Run In Doha

Karen Khachanov becomes the champion in Doha as he beats 18 year old Jakub Mensik from Czech Republic in straight sets 7-6(12), 6,4 at the Qatar Open in Doha. Khachanov needed an hour and 49 minutes to put away Mensik who was looking to win his maiden title.

© ATP Staff

Khachanov fought hard to break through the first set tie-break, managing to hold himself together after missing a coupleof backhand volleys. Mensik made Khachanov work hard on the court, firing solid groundstrokes on both wings from the baseline, and just putting all the balls back in play.

Mensik also served great with accuracy but fell a bit short at the end of the first set. He was unable to pull himself together after giving away the first set, allowing Khachanov to break early in the second and was not able to rally his way back into the match. Before he knew it, Khachanov served out the match with an ace. 

This win marks Khachanov’s sixth career title and his first in 2024. He will be moving up to 15th in the world on the ATP Pepperstone rankings. Khachanov will be playing the Dubai open in two days time and is set to play Alexei Popyrin, whom he beat in the semifinals just a day ago.

Jakub Mensik may be a phenom to watch in the coming months with his skill sets and high tennis IQ.