Czech No.4 seed Jakub Mensik collapsed due to severe cramps and could barely finish the match in dramatic scenes in the Australian Open junior boys final.
In the final game of an epic 3 hour and 43 minute championship clash, Mensik, 16, was serving to stay in the match at 5-6 in the third set when a marathon rally pushed him over the edge.
Although he won the point, with No.1 seeded American Bruno Kuzuhara hitting an all or nothing forehand long, the length of the point and the physicality of the match ultimately cost Mensik, who lowered himself flat on his stomach and took almost a minute before he was able to get back to his feet.
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“It is tough, I’m not sure he’s going to be able to continue here,” Brad Stine said in commentary.
“The mind is willing, the body is weak,” replied Robbie Koenig.
“If you’ve ever had cramps you’d understand, this is painful,” concluded Stine.
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After staggering around behind the baseline, supported by the frame of his racquet, Mensik finally persevered to loud cheers from the crowd.
At this point it was 30/30, with Mensik needing to find the reserves to win two points to level the deciding set at 6-6.
He finally stepped up to serve without being able to move his feet off the ground, but could only manage to nurse his serve into the net, bringing up a match point for 17-year-old Kuzuhara.
At that point Mensik went down for a second time and was unable to get back to his feet before copping a time violation warning after the chair umpire was instructed by the court supervisor to enforce the sanction.
That triggered Kuzuhara to question why Mensik hadn’t been hit with a point penalty, due to having received earlier time violations.
After a brief exchange with the umpire, Kuzuhara readied himself to receive serve on championship point.
While managing to stay upright, Mensik’s legs were completely failing him, and he was unable to land either serve in the court, handing the Australian Open championship to Kuzuhara in cruel fashion.
He then collapsed to the court once again, unable to summon the strength to get to the net to congratulate his American rival.
Kuzuhara jogged around the net to check on his beaten opponent, in a touching gesture of sportsmanship, before officials brought a wheelchair onto the court, to whisk the Czech youngster away for treatment.
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