“You always want to win. We play approximately 22 tournaments per season, and at the end of the day, you compete weekly. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful trophies in Doha.”
Mensik, a Czech teenager ranked 116 who will break into the top 100 next week, was playing in only his third main draw event after reaching the third round of the 2023 US Open and making the second round of the Australian Open last month.
On his way to the Doha final, he defeated former world number one Andy Murray and top seed Andrey Rublev.
He had a chance in a marathon opener on Saturday, but his 27-year-old Russian opponent saved four set points.
“I thought yesterday’s tie-break was preparation for today,” said Khachanov, who won a 14-12 tie-break against Alexei Popyrin in the semis on Friday.
“Today, I couldn’t believe it was the same score and tie-break… I stayed strong, and I’m overjoyed that I won the first set. It lifted my spirits and gave me the confidence to take the second step.”that thing relieved some of my stress.”
