"Closed doors in front of us, Novak Djokovic opened them" - Jakub Mensik & coach reveal Serb's helping hand in youngster's rise

Czech tennis player Jakub Mensik and his coach Tomas Josefus recently revealed Novak Djokovic's helping hand in the youngster's rise on the men's tennis circuit.

Mensik, who turned professional in 2022, started the 2024 season as World No. 546 in the ATP rankings, and just four months later, he sits inside the Top 100 at the 74th spot.

Mensik performed big at the Qatar Open as he defeated the likes of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Andy Murray, Andrey Rublev and Gael Monfils before losing to Karen Khachanov in the final.

In a recent interview with L'Equipe, Tomas Josefus stated that Novak Djokovic sent Jakub Mensik a video message in February 2022 and invited him to joint training and the youngster stated that he didn't believe that it was actually the Serb to begin with.

"We were taking stock when Jakub received a video on his phone from a Serbian number that he didn't know," said Josefus.

"I first thought it was a hoax, but it was really him. Novak is my childhood idol, you can imagine my joy," said Mensik.

Mensik then flew to Belgrade and practiced with the 24-time Grand Slam champion, comprehending every aspect of the latter's game.

"Weight, lunch, recovery... Everything he did, I did. I understood a lot of things there. I observed him, I tried to analyze his functioning, how he warms up, stretches, recovers," the 18-year-old added.

Josefus acknowledged the 36-year-old's courtesy in imparting knowledge and Mensik disclosed that he got them in touch with people who could help. The Czech connected with the Serb's former team member and physiotherapist Sasa Jezdic and now travels with him.

Furthermore, the 18-year-old has joined hands with Gotta Tennis, a performance analysis outfit that has worked with Djokovic already.

"He did not hesitate to share his knowledge and contacts. We had closed doors in front of us, Novak opened them," the coach said.

"He recommended them to us and gave us their number. Many things we put in place were thanks to him," Mensik confirmed.

---

Jakub Mensik trained with Novak Djokovic again before Serb won Wimbledon in 2022

Jakub Mensik

During the same conversation with L'Equipe, Jakub Mensik talked about his second training session with Novak Djokovic a few months after their first in 2022.

"It was before Wimbledon, so I was able to observe his [Novak Djokovic's] specific preparation for a Grand Slam, all the little details of everyday life," Mensik explained.

Djokovic notably won the Wimbledon Championships in 2022 for the seventh time in his career. He went past the likes of Kwon Soon-Woo, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Miomir Kecmanovic, Tim van Rijthovan, Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie before taking down Nick Kyrgios in the final.

As far as Jakub Mensik's recent run is concerned, he defeated Yannick Hanfmann and Grigor Dimitrov before being forced to pull out midway through the third-round match against Felix Auger-Aliassime with a right-arm injury at the 2024 Madrid Open.