Making his United Cup debut and playing his first match of the season, Mensik\u2019s win followed Barbora Krejcikova\u2019s victory over Malene Helgo, giving Czechia a 2-0 win in the Group D tie and eliminating Norway, which fell to 0-2 this week.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mensik, 20, is the second-youngest man to record a singles win in United Cup history, behind 18-year-old Stefanos Sakellaridis in 2023.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mensik held his nerve late in both sets, earning a crucial break at 5-5 in the opener before serving for a one-set advantage. Mensik later rebounded after failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He trailed 3\/5 in the second-set tie-break but won five of the following six points to survive. The winner of last year\u2019s ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami, Mensik, crushed a forehand pass cross-court when facing a set point at 5\/6 in the second-set tie-break, according to ATP.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier, two-time major singles champion Krejcikova made a winning United Cup debut, defeating Norway's Helgo 6-4, 6-3.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The former World No. 2 enters the 2026 WTA Tour season ranked No. 65 in the WTA Rankings after another injury setback at the end of 2025.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier, two-time major singles champion Krejcikova made a winning United Cup debut, defeating Norway's Helgo 6-4, 6-3.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI didn't play for a long period, and the injury that I had was really tough and very unfortunate,\" Krejcikova said. \"I'm really happy that I'm here, that I can play, that I can enjoy it, that I can compete, and I'm really happy that I can finally finish a match.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n