By Shrivathsa Sridhar
PARIS (Reuters) – Jakub Mensik said he tried to compose himself like his mentor Novak Djokovic would to handle the partisan French Open crowd after the talented Czech teenager downed local hope Alexandre Muller in a tense clash on Tuesday.
Mensik sealed a 7-5 6-7(5) 7-5 6-3 victory on a raucous and sometimes hostile Court 14 to book his place in the second round and said he benefited from the experience.
He turned up the heat on a cold day at Roland Garros after winning the third set, celebrating exuberantly before pretending to conduct the crowd as jeers rained down on him, similar to how Djokovic has done in the past.
“It’s such a great experience. Everyone was telling me that at Roland Garros, the atmosphere, the French people are special. I experienced that. I’m glad for that experience,” 19-year-old Mensik told reporters.
“Like Novak says, when sometimes the crowd is against him … I was repeating in my head when they were cheering or shouting his (Muller’s) name, I was trying to focus that they are shouting my name.
“The atmosphere here is something special. Of course, sometimes it was really difficult. In those pressure situations, I played my best tennis, which was the key. Maybe they pushed me forward. That’s why I played that good in the fourth set.”
Djokovic, who took Mensik under his wing a few years ago, can expect a similar reception when he faces Corentin Moutet or Clement Tabur in the next round after the three-times champion beat Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-3 6-3 in his opener.
“It’s logical to expect that,” Djokovic said. “Let’s take all four slams. Anywhere you go, and you play the local player coming from that country where the slam is played, that they’re going to have the crowd on their side. Nothing strange about it.
“But it’s true that here in France and in Paris, compared to other slams, people are louder and more passionate and just give more support, louder support, more energy to their player, which for some players can be annoying.
“It’s not the ideal environment you want to be playing in, but you have to be ready for it. I’ve played in a lot of hostile environments in my career and it’s not something I haven’t experienced before.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Paris; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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