Preview: Jakub Mensik vs. Andrey Rublev- French Open prediction, form, head-to-head

Making his first appearance in the fourth round of the French Open, Jakub Mensik will face off with Grand Slam veteran Andrey Rublev on Sunday.

In his previous match, the 26th-ranked Czech player stormed back to upset Alex de Minaur 0-6 6-2 6-2 6-3, while Rublev won a narrow three-set outing versus Nuno Borges 7-5 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2).

Match preview

Every time he has faced adversity at Roland-Garros this year, Jakub Mensik has found a way to bounce back, doing so in spectacular fashion in round three.

After barely putting up a fight in his opening set against de Minaur, the 20-year-old came to life, converting seven break points to emerge victorious.

He will be seeking some redemption on Sunday, at this stage of a Grand Slam for only the second time as he aims to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

The last time he competed in the fourth round of a major tournament, he did not even see any action with a muscle injury forcing him to withdraw from his match with Novak Djokovic.

Largely due to his poor opening set on Friday, his first serve winning percentage was uncharacteristically low at 67%, after boasting a 90% and 75% ratio in matches one and two, respectively.

While he has hit a combined 23 aces in his three matches at Roland-Garros in 2026, Mensik has also registered a combined 20 double faults.

We have become accustomed to seeing Andrey Rublev in the last 16 or beyond at a Grand Slam singles event, and that is the case once again for him at the French Open.

Sunday will mark his fourth time competing in round four of this event, with the Russian advancing beyond this stage on two occasions.

At the same time, he has lost his previous four appearances in the last 16 of a singles Grand Slam tournament, suffering a defeat to the eventual French Open runner-up in 2025, Jannik Sinner, in straight sets.

In the clutch moments, the 11th seed has delivered at Roland-Garros this year, winning all three of his tiebreak sets, two of which were in round three.

The 10-time Grand Slam singles quarter-finalist has only captured one of his last 13 fourth-round sets in a major tournament, losing in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz at last year’s Wimbledon event.

He has 23 aces in his three matches thus far, while registering a mere nine double faults over that stretch of the tournament.

Tournament so far

Jakub Mensik:

First round: vs. Titouan Droguet 6-3 6-2 6-4

Second round: vs. Mariano Navaone 6-3 2-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 (13-11)

Third round: vs. Alex de Minaur 0-6 6-2 6-2 6-3

Andrey Rublev:

First round: vs. Ignacio Buse 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5

Second round: vs. Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-1 1-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Third round: vs. Nuno Borges 7-5 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2)

Head To Head

Doha Open (2024) - Quarter-finals: Mensik wins 6-4 7-6

ATP Masters Shanghai (2024) - Round of 64: Mensik wins 6-7 6-4 6-3

In Doha two years ago, Mensik’s serve was on point throughout the match as he registered 10 aces and won 81% of his first-serve points to emerge victorious.

The last time they met in China, we witnessed two players with big serves as they each reached double digits in aces, while Mensik had an edge in first serves, at 62% and his counterpart was at 54%.