Jakub Mensik has been putting together some really solid performances lately, but things haven't gone so well at the 2024 Miami Open, and he did a foolish thing that almost ended in disaster.
Mensik is an 18-year-old talent from the Czech Republic who has put forward some pretty solid performances recently. The first time we truly found out about him was last year when he made a run in New York.
He made the third round of the US Open after qualifying for the event, and he's back this year, making his maiden Tour-level final in the Middle East. The Miami Open should have been another event where he could have done really well, but he lost in the qualifiers, failing to enter the main draw of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
He was playing Lukas Klein, who bested him in two sets. The first set ended in a tie-break, which Klein won 9-7 with a sensational return winner. Mensik was visibly frustrated with that and tossed his racket towards his bench, but that was very dangerous because he nearly hit a ball kid.
Had he hit the ball boy with the racket, Mensik would have likely been disqualified from the match, but more importantly, he could have seriously hurt the kid.
A flying racket like that is pretty tough to handle, and depending on where it hits the person, it can be dangerous, especially if it hits the ball kid in the head, as that was its height.
Luckily, Mensik missed and the match continued, but he still lost it as the Slovakian player made it into the main draw. Still, the Czech's throw was clearly a dangerous move because he didn't just toss it; he put some force into the throw.
It's not something fans wants to see from the rising stars or any tennis player for that matter.
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