Jakub Mensik won his second career title by beating top-seeded Sebastian Baez 6-3, 7-6(7) in the ASB Classic final on Saturday afternoon. Mensik came back from 6-3 down in the second tiebreaker to win after one hour and 22 minutes.
“I’d say it’s been a good start to the year,” commented the 20-year-old Czech. “I am very happy that after my preparations and before the season, when it is clear that you are not in the rhythm and you will come in the new season with great strength, I showed the good performance that I wanted. I am very happy to win.”
Mensik’s first title came at the Masters 1000 level, when he upset Novak Djokovic in the 2025 Miami final.
Baez had previously gone 7-0 to start the season.
At the Adelaide International, Tomas Machac held off Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-2 – and claimed his second ATP title.
“I kept my focus in the third set and kept my level of tennis very high in the third set,” explained the 25-year-old Czech. “I started playing with a lot of anger and I worked well. I am very happy that after the injury I can be at this moment with a trophy and a high level of tennis.”
Humbert is now 7-4 in ATP finals.
Both Machac and Humbert can now look ahead to tough first-round matches at the Australian Open against Grigor Dimitrov and Ben Shelton, respectively.
