Sunday, June 15

Sports Mole previews Monday’s Queen’s Club Championships first-round match between Cameron Norrie and Jakub Mensik, including predictions, form and their head-to-head record.

Former British No. 1 Cameron Norrie returns to the Queen’s Club Championships, aiming to avoid a tournament-opening exit against Jakub Mensik on Monday.

Norrie enters the grass court season following encouraging runs in the final clay events, having reached the semi-finals in Geneva and the fourth round at the French Open; the 29-year-old hopes to sidestep a swift exit against his Czech opponent, who comes into the London event in indifferent form.

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Match preview

Former Queen's finalist Norrie enters his home tournament seeking to continue his ongoing positive streak on the ATP Tour.

After a mixed start to 2025, the previous two clay-court events showed promise for the former world No. 8, who reached the semis in the ATP 250 event in Geneva before Roland Garros and advanced to the last 16 in the French capital.

Both events ended in defeat to Novak Djokovic, and Norrie might have progressed to a title match in Switzerland and possibly played in his first quarter-final match at the French Open had he not faced the 24-time Grand Slam champion on both occasions.

A finalist here in 2021, when he lost to Matteo Berrettini in three thrilling sets, Norrie's best result in London since came two years ago, when he exited to Sebastian Korda in the last eight; the five-time titlist hopes to at least match that result from 2023.

What the 29-year-old will aim to avoid is another early exit against a tricky opponent, a scenario that befell the left-handed Briton 12 months ago when he fell to Milos Raonic in a titanic three-set match lasting two hours and 15 minutes.

Facing Mensik ideally poses challenges for the world No. 60; however, the 19-year-old's indifferent form since winning the Miami Masters leaves much to be desired.

Since that success, the teenager lost in his first match in Munich, reached the last eight in Madrid, exited in the last 16 in Rome, and suffered a disappointing loss at the French Open against qualifier Henrique Rocha.

That collapse in the French capital came after the Czech player claimed the opening two sets, only to lose the next three in a shock exit.

Another disappointing loss occurred at the start of June on the Challenger Circuit, with Mensik falling to world No. 225 Vitaliy Sachko on home soil in Prostejov.

Indeed, the world No. 17’s prospects appear bleaker, considering that the teenager enters the event in West Kensington on a three-match losing streak on grass dating back to last year, with his career 2-4 record on the surface magnifying his challenges on this surface.

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Head To Head

Both men face off for the first time on the men’s tour, with the victor taking a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head.

The young Czech player has lost his previous two matches against players ranked outside the top 50, suffering defeats to Rocha and Sachko, and aims to avoid a third consecutive loss against opponents in that bracket.

The young player stands at 3-3 overall on the ATP Tour against left-handed opponents, notably losing three of his most recent four matches against such players.

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We say: Norrie to win in three sets

While Mensik’s fierce serve and powerful ball-striking make him a danger, the teenager lacks sufficient wins on grass courts to be assured of a positive outcome in his first match on the surface this season.

Thus, the 2021 finalist is favoured to defeat the eighth seed at Queen’s and advance to the second round in London. ID:575599:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5184:

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