Two lucky losers find themselves in the Eastbourne quarterfinals, including Jenson Brooksby–who will face Dan Evans on Thursday. A much more expected matchup features Jakub Mensik and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
(3) Jakub Mensik vs. (6) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Davidovich Fokina made a miracle run to the Australian Open fourth round in January, coming back from two sets down twice in a row. After upsetting Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 28th-ranked Spaniard made an even more ridiculous comeback against none other than Mensik to prevail 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-2. They will square off again on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Eastbourne Open, with the overall head-to-head series standing at 2-1 in Davidovich Fokina’s favor. They faced each twice early in 2024; Mensik won 7-6(3), 6-4 in Doha before Davidovich Fokina advanced via retirement in Dubai while leading 7-6(7), 1-0.
This rematch likely favors Mensik. The 19-year-old Czech is now a Masters 1000 champion (Miami) and he is up to No. 17 in the world. Mensik took care of Reilly Opelka 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday, while Davidovich Fokina has defeated Chun-Hsin Tseng and James Duckworth. This is the No. 6 seed’s first event since Roland Garros, mainly due to having gotten married earlier this month. Mensik is in better shape right now and his game should work even better than his opponent’s on grass, so count on the teenager reaching the semis.
Pick: Mensik in 2
(LL) Jenson Brooksby vs. (WC) Dan Evans
The story is much different in Brooksby vs. Evans, as these are two guys ranked outside the top 140 and obviously did not even get into the main draw with direct entry. Brooksby fell in the final round of qualifying to Aleksandar Vukic–not a bad grass-court loss–but secured a lucky-loser spot and has since made quick work of Francisco Comesana and Nuno Borges. After being suspended from tennis for two seasons, the 24-year-old American is already back up to 149th in the rankings thanks in part to his first ATP title on the red clay of Houston. Early returns on grass are encouraging, as Brooksby is 11-8 lifetime on this surface.
Because of both injuries and poor play, Evans is wallowing down at No. 170 in the world. The veteran Brit had not won a match on the main tour this entire season before advancing one round in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and at Queen’s Club. Evans now finds himself in his first ATP quarterfinal since Washington, D.C. in 2023 as a result of three-set victories over Miomir Kecmanovic and Tommy Paul. It’s hard to trust an oft-injured 35-year-old coming off two very difficult contests, plus Brooksby has never had any issues dealing with the kind of game style that Evans brings to the table.
Pick: Brooksby in 3
