Jakub Mensik prevents Djokovic from 100th title, wins Miami Open for 1st ATP trophy

Marc Berman · The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 9:21 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Novak Djokovic faced a bid of obstacles Sunday successful the Miami Open final: a hold of much than 5 1/2 hours earlier the match, an oculus corruption and a slippery tribunal owed to precocious levels of humidity pursuing the rain.

But the largest roadblock was the younker and powerfulness of 6-foot-4, 19-year-old phenom Jakub Mensik, who outdueled the 37-year-old Serbian 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) to triumph his archetypal ATP title.

Ranked 54th entering the tournament, the Czech Republic teen plowed done Djokovic with poise and a stellar 130 mph serve. He collected 14 aces and got breached lone once. Mensik bashed a work victor connected lucifer constituent and fell connected his back.

"You're the 1 I idolized erstwhile I was young," Mensik said to Djokovic during the ceremonial aft the lucifer that lasted 2 hours, 3 minutes. "I started playing tennis due to the fact that of you."

Mensik's triumph spoiled the enactment for Djokovic, who was seeking his 100th vocation rubric and a grounds seventh successful the Miami Open. Djokovic volition person to wait, portion the teen looks acceptable to articulation the elite.

"This is simply a joyous infinitesimal for him and his household — an unbelievable tournament, archetypal of many," Djokovic said. "It hurts maine to admit it, you were better. In the clutch moments you delivered the goods. For a young subordinate similar yourself, this is simply a large feature."

The assemblage pulled hard for Djokovic, who hadn't played present since 2019. More than three-quarters of the fans stuck astir contempt the monolithic delay, chanting "No-vak!" and singing his sanction crossed captious parts of the match.

Fan favourite

Djokovic, acold from a instrumentality favourite present earlier successful his career, saluted the fans, saying it was 1 of the warmest crowds he's had ever.

But the men's person with 24 Grand Slam titles seemed compromised by his oculus issue, with redness seen nether the eyelid. Djokovic applied eyedrops during 2 changeovers successful the archetypal set. It was unclear if it affected his vision.

Afterward, Djokovic said helium "really prefers not to speech about" his eye, but said "I didn't consciousness my top connected the court."

Djokovic called it "a weird day."

"It's the aforesaid for some players," helium added. "You person to judge the circumstances. I tried to marque the astir retired of what I had oregon was facing but, yeah, it was rather antithetic from immoderate different time of the tourney for me."

During the set, helium besides slipped doubly connected the court. The humidity reached 90% aft hours of rainfall disrupted the card. Sweating profusely, Djokovic asked the umpire for a bucket of sawdust to sprinkle connected his bedewed grip.

Mensik had mislaid to Djokovic successful a three-setter past October astatine the Shanghai Masters but the youngster said earlier the lucifer helium had played excessively nervously.

Mensik was playing his archetypal ATP 1000 final. He was not rather 2 years aged erstwhile Djokovic won his archetypal Miami Open rubric successful 2007.

Djokovic knew Mensik's imaginable aft inviting him to his campy successful Belgrade to bid erstwhile the prodigy was 16.

"He has the implicit game. His service is incredible, powerful, precise," Djokovic said.

There was much fearlessness this clip than successful Shanghai. Mensik got up 3-0 with an aboriginal interruption but Djokovic broke backmost astatine 4-3, past held for 4-4 aft fans chanted his name.

Mensik held for a 6-5 pb successful a crippled that saw Djokovic instrumentality a tumble successful the doubles alley chasing a driblet shot. Mensik served it retired with his seventh ace.

In the first-set tiebreak, Mensik charged up 5-0. Mensik executed a leaping backhand volley victor and Djokovic muffed a regular forehand driblet changeable into the nett to autumn down 5-0. On acceptable point, Mensik slugged an overhead smash for a winner.

The lucifer was scheduled for 3 p.m. but the players didn't instrumentality the tribunal until 8:37 p.m. owed to rainfall and organizers deciding connected completing the women's doubles final.

The South Florida rainfall began astatine 12:50 p.m. during the women's doubles last pitting Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider against Cristina Bucsa and Miyu Kato, with Andreeva and Shnaider starring 3-0 successful the archetypal set.

The women's players returned to the tribunal astatine 5:30 p.m. aft the rainfall stopped and the courts were readied by court-drying machinery. But rainfall began minutes aboriginal earlier warmups and the umbrella-toting players near the tribunal again.

The women returned to the tribunal an hr aboriginal and resumed play astatine 6:50 p.m. Andreeva and Schnaider went the distance, prevailing successful a third-set lucifer tiebreaker 6-3, 6-7 (5), 10-2.