Jakub Mensik channels idol Djokovic as he conducts Roland Garros crowd

PARIS, France—Jakub Mensik knew facing a French opponent at Roland Garros would be as much of a mental challenge as it was a physical one.

So when the crowd made its presence felt—loudly—during his first-round match with Alexandre Muller, the 19-year-old turned to a familiar source of inspiration: his idol and mentor, Novak Djokovic.

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The 24-time Grand Slam winner is no stranger to a hostile crowd. In fact, their heckling has often seemed to make Djokovic find a higher level—thanks to a simple but effective mental tactic:

"The crowd is chanting Roger, I hear Novak,” Djokovic said after defeating Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon final. “I know it sounds silly, but it is like that. I tried to convince myself that it's like that.”

With the partisan crowd on Court 14 rallying behind Muller after Mensik claimed the first set, the Czech teenager employed the same mindset.

“Not just after the third set, but all the time, I was just repeating in my head that they are cheering for me,” Mensik said afterward.

As the match intensified after Mensik reclaimed the lead in the third set, the No. 19 seed took it a step further. He recreated one of Djokovic’s iconic reactions by gesturing to the crowd with his hands like a conductor in front of an orchestra, daring them to raise their volume.

“I don't know if you remember, like Novak's celebration, I think it was against Jannik in Turin during the (ATP Finals),” Mensik explained with a grin during his post-match press conference. “He was doing also orchestra. So… that can be it.”

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The Czech opened up more about Djokovic’s influence, and the way he handled the crowd, in our Tennis.com Quote du jour:

Q. Your hero is Novak Djokovic. Whenever he's in that situation, he often seems to play better if he's maybe got a crowd against him. How did you find the experience? Did you actually enjoy it, or are you proud that you got through it?

JAKUB MENSIK: No, I knew before the game that it's going to be difficult, that it's going to be like amazing atmosphere, actually for him (smiling).

…But I didn't expect that much, to be honest. Yeah, it's such a great experience. Everyone was telling me that (at) Roland Garros, the atmosphere, the French people are special. Actually, I experienced that. I'm glad for that experience.

Like Novak is saying, when sometimes the crowd is against him—I was just repeating in my head when they were cheering or shouting his name, I was just trying to focus that they are shouting my name actually.

Of course, sometimes it was super difficult. But I think that I did well. The atmosphere here is something special.

Just like his mentor, Mensik seemed to find his best tennis when the pressure was on as he closed out a gritty 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 win on Tuesday.

He’ll face Portuguese qualifier Henrique Rocha in a likely quieter second-round matchup on Thursday.