Clutch Mensik denies Djokovic 100th title at Miami Open
The Czech served brilliantly under pressure, maintaining his 100 percent tiebreak record in Miami
Jakub Mensik, Miami 2025 | © AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
Unseeded teenager Jakub Mensik denied Novak Djokovic a 100th title on Sunday at the Miami Masters in Florida, instead winning his maiden trophy on the ATP Tour with a 7-6(4), 7-6(4) victory over the No 4 seed.
Mensik becomes the lowest-ranked player in history to win the Miami Open, and only the fourth player to win their first title at an ATP Masters 1000.
The 19-year-old put on a serving clinic, particularly under pressure, landing 67 percent of first serves, winning 77 percent of first-serve points and recording 14 aces.
“Just a mess, I don’t know what to say,” Mensik said on court after the two-hour, three-minute match. “It feels incredible obviously. It was probably my biggest day of my life. And I did super, which I’m really glad of, to show the performance and keep the nervous outside of the court before the match. I feel just super happy, and I think the feelings will come later.
“I did [have belief]. Obviously it was not the first time I play against Novak. There is no harder task in tennis than to beat him in the final, but of course I felt really great. It’s my time, so I just try to focus on the match like I did before in previous rounds, and I just felt the ball well.”
Haggard Djokovic starts slow
Before Mensik and Djokovic even took to court on Sunday, there was plenty of drama. The match was delayed by almost six hours due to rain, during which images leaked of Djokovic warming up with a significant stye on his right eye.
While the swelling had gone down by the time the final got underway – just before 9pm local time – Djokovic still looked haggard initially.
He seemed to be struggling with his vision and balance, losing his footing several times early in the match and regularly applying eye drops to his irritated eye.
The result was Mensik racing out to a 3-0 lead, dispelling any questions around how he would play in the biggest match of his career.
The Czech continued to play with a cool head even when Djokovic powered back into contention, with the No 4 seed winning three games in a row from 4-1 to 4-4.
The set remained on serve from the eighth game and went to a tiebreak – usually Djokovic’s forte, but not today.
Mensik had won five of five tiebreakers in Miami leading into the match, and picked up where he left off, upping his serving level and playing clutch tennis to race past Djokovic 7-4 for a one set lead.
Mensik keeps his head, Djokovic fades
In their first meeting last year, Mensik won the opening set in a tiebreak before Djokovic raced through the remaining two sets.
That was not to be the plotline this time, though, as Mensik remained rock solid on serve and Djokovic became increasingly frustrated at the other end. The 24-time Grand Slam champion simply could not find a way through, and began wilting significantly in the Miami humidity.
When another tiebreak eventuated, Djokovic looked to be on his last legs. The fifth point was a decisive rally with both men emptying the tank, and Mensik coming out on top while Djokovic quite literally was beaten into the ground, lying on the court depleted.
From that point on the breaker seemed like a formality, and even Mensik misjudging a ball that bounced in front of him on the baseline could not deny the teen from claiming his maiden title against the man that inspired him to play tennis in the first place.
