‘Insane’ to Play in French Open Heat, Says Mensik After Cramps

The 20-year-old needed eight match points to win 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (13/11) after four hours and 41 minutes on court No. 6, which was completely exposed to the sun.

“Playing in this weather, especially in front of the sun, staying out there for more than four and a half hours is crazy,” Mensik told reporters. he said.

“Even during the breaks you don’t have a lot of time, the ball boy can’t bring you a towel.

“You only have a minute during the change, when you sit down it’s only 30 seconds anyway, so you don’t have much time to calm yourself down.”

Mensik collapsed immediately after his winning forehand shot.

When his opponent came to meet him, he tried to stand up but ended up on his back. He waited for a few seconds before the referee came to his aid and medical personnel eventually arrived to assist him.

“Today’s referee, I’ll keep what happened after the game to myself, but his behavior… I don’t respect that,” he added, without going into further detail.

Mensik acknowledged that “rules are rules” but compared the strict rules that force players to play quickly to the speed with which referees stop play if a spectator falls ill.

“I really struggled with the last point,” he said.

“When I reached the final point, the final winner, the emotions faded and of course my body shut down, so I couldn’t do anything at that moment.”

Mensik will return to the court on Friday to face eighth seed Alex de Minaur, who has not played since Monday after his opponent Alexander Blockx left the game with an injury in the second round.

“Even though it looked scary in the end, after 30 minutes in the locker room away from the sun, I started to feel a lot better,” the 26th seed said.

“I’m here, I’m feeling pretty good. So of course I’m going to make the most of the recovery day as best I can. Conditions won’t be as crazy as they were today.”