Mensik withdraws from Australian Open showdown with Djokovic due to abdominal injury – Tennis Now
Injury once again severely damaged the Czech team’s Jakub Mencic. The 20-year-old withdrew from his showdown with Novak Djokovic in Melbourne, allowing the 10-time Australian Open champion to advance comfortably.
“It was an unfortunate decision for me,” Mencic said. “After the last few games I started to feel worse and the problem was actually my left side abs. It’s gotten worse the last few games and I think if I were to play tomorrow it would be a big risk for me in the next few weeks, my next game and even my health.”
This is a tough one to write. After long conversations with my team and doctors and after doing everything we could to keep going, I have to unfortunately withdraw from the @AustralianOpen due to an abdominal injury that has progressed over the last matches.
Even though I’m…
— Jakub Mensik (@mensik_jakub_) January 25, 2026
Mensik made it seven straight wins in week two in Melbourne after winning in Auckland.
“The fact that my fourth-round match was against Novak on Rod Laver Arena made it even more difficult,” he said. “So, of course, I’m very sad not to be able to step on the court and compete against my idols and GOATs
“It’s very tough, being in the fourth round in the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time, it’s something I’ll definitely accept. Of course, I’ll try my best to come back again and come back stronger.”
