Jakub Mensik suffers dramatic Roland-Garros collapse as Alex de Minaur’s opponent battles extreme heat in four-hour marathon win

Alex de Minaur’s Roland-Garros campaign has taken another unusual turn, with his next opponent, Jakub Mensik, suffering badly in extreme Paris heat after an exhausting five-set battle. Mensik, the 26th seed, beat Argentina’s Mariano Navone 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (13-11) in four hours and 41 minutes, but the victory came at a physical cost. The Czech player collapsed on court after the final point, could not get up for several minutes, and was later taken to the medical room in a wheelchair.

The alarming scenes came just two days after de Minaur advanced when his second-round opponent, Alexander Blockx, was injured in practice and withdrew. That means the Australian, one of the quickest and fittest players on the tour, has spent little energy so far in Paris and now faces a potentially weakened opponent in the third round.

Mensik said the conditions were “insane” and described the challenge of playing for more than four-and-a-half hours in the sun as brutal. He explained that the short changeovers and limited cooling time made it difficult to recover during the match. Even so, he later insisted he would be ready to face de Minaur, saying that after time in the locker room, an ice bath, and recovery work, he felt much better and expected to be fit enough to compete.

The match was one of several affected by a Paris heat wave, with temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius for the fourth day in a row. Novak Djokovic also struggled in the heat during his third-round win over French player Valentin Royer. The Serbian star, 39, used ice packs on his neck and head during changeovers and needed more than three and a half hours to secure a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3 victory. Djokovic said clay-court matches in such conditions were extremely demanding and suggested that tournament organisers should consider scheduling more matches in the evening when temperatures are especially high.

Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk also spoke about the severity of the weather after her 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3 win over Katie Volynets. Kostyuk extended her winning streak to 13 matches but admitted the heat made survival part of the contest, saying she was relieved not to cramp or faint.

The conditions have turned Roland-Garros into a test of endurance as much as skill, with several players battling not only their opponents but also the weather. For de Minaur, however, the heat may have created an advantage, as he prepares for a meeting with Mensik less than 48 hours after the Czech’s exhausting and potentially draining win.