Czech tennis player Jakub Mensik went to battle with the Roland Garros crowd on Tuesday and came out on top.
Mensik faced French player Alexandre Muller during the first round of the French Open on Tuesday, so the crowd was heavily against him to begin with. The hostility toward Mensik only grew worse when he took the third set after repeated disputes with the umpire.
Mensik received loud boos upon winning the set, and responded by taunting the crowd with Novak Djokovic’s orchestra conductor celebration.
Jakub Mensik fights back against the French Crowd on court 14
— 🦖 (@RamoFootball) May 27, 2025
my goat 😭😭
pic.twitter.com/2wcR038576
Mensik went on to win in four sets, and openly admitted after the match that he was inspired by Djokovic’s celebration. Djokovic made a very similar move in November 2023 during an ATP match in Turin against Jannik Sinner.
Mensik on this moment.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 27, 2025
“It was similar to what Djokovic did vs. Sinner in Turin”.
Jakub is indeed a big Nole-fan. https://t.co/XR83TXyqRc
Mensik can take solace in the fact that Djokovic has also had an adversarial relationship with French Open crowds at times. He did not seem to mind the reception on Tuesday, and if anything, he was motivated by it.
Entering the French Open, Mensik was ranked 19th in the world. He will face Portugal’s Henrique Rocha in the second round.
