Only eight players now remain in the ongoing Shanghai Masters, and on Friday, we will see teenager Jakub Mensik take on the formidable Novak Djokovic in a quarter-final showdown.
The winner of this matchup will progress to the semi-final of this grand event where they will face either USA's Taylor Fritz or Belgium's number one men's singles player David Goffin.
Match preview
© Imago
Jakub Mensik added yet another feather to his cap on Wednesday by defeating number nine seed Grigor Dimitrov (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) and is now set to become the youngest quarter-finalist in this tournament's history.
The 19-year-old Czech has been widely regarded as one of the ATP's brightest prospects, and his victory over Dimitrov in the last round marked his fourth consecutive win against a top-10 opponent.
In doing so, Mensik has joined an illustrious group of players who were previously under the age of 21 and accomplished this feat in the 21st century - Lleyton Hewitt, Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune.
The most recent victory also took the teenager to 23 wins from 38 matches this season, a period during which he also put together a run to the final of Qatar Open and reached the semi-final of the Umag Open back in July.
En route to this match, Mensik defeated Pedro Martinez to kick off his campaign before coming back from a set down to beat sixth seed Andrey Rublev, and he then backed up that performance with a victory over Alexander Shevchenko.
A win against Djokovic would mark the first time the Czech has defeated a player ranked as high as fourth in the world.
© Imago
Meanwhile, despite Mensik's incredible rise this year, four-time Shanghai Masters champion and fourth seed Novak Djokovic is still a massive favourite heading into this encounter against the up-and-coming Czech star.
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion is refusing to underestimate the rising talent ahead of their first-ever clash, and even revealed that he has followed Mensik since his junior career and offered him advice and guidance in the past.
The Serbian booked his spot in the last eight of this tournament with a commanding straight-sets victory over Russian Roman Safiullin (6-3, 6-2), marking the 10th time he has reached the quarter-final here in Shanghai.
In the preceding rounds of what could be his last official tournament of the season, the 37-year-old defeated American Alex Michelsen (7-6, 7-6) and Italy's No. 28 seed Flavio Cobolli (6-1, 6-2).
Indeed, Djokovic has not won an ATP title this year, finishing as runner-up at Wimbledon and a semi-finalist at the Australian Open, but he did earn a priceless gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and if this is to be his last tournament of the year, he will undoubtedly be looking to go all the way.
Tournament so far
Jakub Mensik :
First round: vs. Pedro Martinez 6-1 5-7 6-4
Second round: vs. Andrey Rublev 6-7[7] 6-4 6-3
Third round: vs. Alexander Shevchenko 6-1 6-7[5] 6-2
Round of 16: vs Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 3-6 6-4
Novak Djokovic:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Alex Michelsen 7-6[3] 7-6[9]
Third round: vs. Flavio Cobolli 6-1 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Roman Safiullin 6-3 6-2
Head To Head
This is the first-ever match between Jakub Mensik and Novak Djokovic.
We say: Djokovic to win in three sets
While it has been a joy to watch Mensik's rise over the last few months, he now faces the toughest opponent of his professional career in Djokovic, who is looking like he is back to his best form, barely breaking a sweat in the last round against Safiullin and yet to drop a set here in Shanghai.
If Mensik can push the veteran outside of his comfort zone, he might be able to steal a set, but we believe the Serbian will ultimately come out on top in this matchup.
Devesh Jaganath
