Mensik’s moment comes in Miami, upsets Fritz to face Djokovic in final
Jakub Mensik survived a three-set thriller against Taylor Fritz in the semis of the Miami Masters on Friday. Mensik will meet Novak Djokovic in the final.
Marta Lavandier/AP/SIPA
The 2025 ATP season has been marked by the rise of teenagers. There was Joao Fonseca, who upset Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open and won the Buenos Aires title. There was also Learner Tien, who reached the last 16 in Melbourne and beat Alexander Zverev in Acapulco.
Now there is Jakub Mensik.
Already a well-known commodity on tour as the No 54 player in the world, Mensik has truly announced himself as legitimate contender for big titles by making a run to the Miami Open final. The 19-year-old did it by upsetting Taylor Fritz 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) in a two-hour and 25-minute semi-final thriller on Friday night. He will face his idol, Novak Djokovic, for the title on Sunday.
“It was pretty tough on the return for both of us, because we were serving really great today,” Mensik commented. “Yeah, just the tiebreaks (made the difference) for me. It was the decider for me, to come and show your best performance in the tiebreaks.”
MENSIK, FRITZ SERVE THERE WAY TO FIRST OF TWO TIEBREAKS
Not too surprisingly in a matchup involving big servers, a tiebreak was required to decide the first set. In fact, there was not a single break point in the entire opening frame of play — although Fritz did get pushed to deuce twice on his own serve.
Mensik won three points in a row for a 3-1 lead in the ‘breaker and did not look back.
FRITZ RESPONDS TO FORCE A THIRD SET
Following such a huge success, it was only natural that Mensik would suffer a bit of a letdown to begin set two. Fritz capitalized immediately, seizing the first break of the night for a quick 1-0 advantage. It proved to be the only break of the set and the only break of the entire match.
The fourth-ranked American served it with relative ease from there, surviving one deuce game at 3-2.
MENSIK GOES THE DISTANCE FOR BIGGEST WIN
That set the stage for a dramatic decider. Another tiebreak became necessary, with Fritz fighting off two break points along the way and Mensik facing none.
It was the Czech who struck with a mini-break for 2-1 on his way to a 3-1 lead. Fritz answered with three consecutive points of his own, pulling ahead 4-3. But it was all Mensik the rest of the way and he converted his first match point at 6-4 when his opponent netted a forehand.
MENSIK TO MEET DJOKOVIC IN MIAMI FINAL
Mensik’s reward is a second showdown against Djokovic, who won their only previous encounter 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4 at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
“It feels incredible; it’s unbelievable,” Mensik said of going up against Djokovic for the title. “For me it was a dream to play against him in Shanghai. Now it’s a bit different; I’m a better player than I was in Shanghai. I’m gonna enjoy (it); it’s gonna be really exciting and I’m really looking forward to competing against him. Let’s see what’s gonna happen on Sunday.”
