#NextGenATP star Mensik becomes youngest Mallorca match winner

Jakub Mensik made tournament history Tuesday at the Mallorca Championships, knocking off defending champion Christopher Eubanks to become the youngest match-winner at the ATP 250. The 18-year-old earned a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 result for his first grass-court win.

Mensik joins 19-year-old Alex Michelsen, who is into the quarter-finals, as the only teen winners in the event's main draw.

"For me it's a good result," he said in his on-court interview. "Obviously after difficult weeks, suffering with the injury, I'm happy to compete again. Back on grass with a 'W', I'm happy and I will be pushing more for the next round."

Mensik missed Roland Garros through injury but is now finding form on the grass behind his powerful serve. He hit 12 aces and won 84 per cent (38/45) of his first-serve points in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Eubanks, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He will next meet Fabio Fognini for a place in the quarter-finals.

Eubanks was bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the Mallorca title.

Roberto Bautista Agut advanced to his third Mallorca quarter-final in as many appearances with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 upset of second seed Ugo Humbert. The Spaniard earned his 40th Top 20 win — and his first since beating Daniil Medvedev last year in Halle — with the result. After dropping out of the Top 110 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time since 2012 this week, the 36-year-old can re-enter the Top 100 with two more victories.

Former college stars Adam Walton and Paul Jubb also earned wins early in Tuesday's action. Walton, the 2021 NCAA doubles champion with the Tennessee Volunteers, beat Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-2. Jubb, the 2019 NCAA singles champion with South Carolina, scored a 6-1, 6-2 result against Maximilian Marterer. The qualifiers will square off for a place in the quarter-finals.

Michelsen has already advanced to the quarters after earning his second win of the week, a 7-6(5), 6-4 upset of third seed Adrian Mannarino. The #NextGenATP American will next meet Sebastian Ofner, who scored an upset of his own, 6-3, 7-5 against Luciano Darderi.