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De Minaur Loses to Mensik and Calls Roland Garros Exit a 'Wasted Opportunity'

The third-round defeat hands further openings to lower-ranked players in a men’s draw already missing several top contenders.

Overview

  • Jakub Mensik beat Alex de Minaur in the French Open third round after de Minaur won the opening set 6-0 and then lost the next three sets 2-6, 2-6, 3-6, eliminating the Australian from the tournament.
  • De Minaur described the result as a 'wasted opportunity' and said he feels trapped in a recurring negative cycle that has stopped him progressing beyond Grand Slam quarter-finals.
  • The match swung dramatically after the first set when Mensik raised his level, de Minaur produced 17 errors across the next two sets, and the Australian angrily smashed a racquet and received a code violation.
  • Mensik reached the third-round win after a gruelling four-hour 41-minute match earlier in the week that left him taken to the medical centre in a wheelchair, showing notable physical resilience in Paris.
  • The result changes the tournament picture because Carlos Alcaraz withdrew earlier and Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have already been eliminated, leaving an unusually open path for lower-ranked players to advance.