Mensik denies Djokovic his 100th title in Miami Open final

Teen tennis star Jakub Mensik upstaged Novak Djokovic in the final of the Miami Open on Monday (AEDT), denying the Serbian what would have been his 100th career title.

Mensik becomes just the second-ever player ranked outside the world’s top 50 to defeat Djokovic in a final, and the first in almost two decades.

The 19-year-old was a $4 underdog at PlayUp coming into the biggest match of his career but played like a veteran, serving sublimely under pressure to win in two tiebreakers.

“Just a mess, I don’t know what to say,” Mensik said after the match.

“It feels incredible obviously. It was probably my biggest day of my life.

“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.”

There was plenty of drama before the Miami Open final even began, with rain pushing the match back by close to six hours and footage emerging of Djokovic warming up with a stye on his right eye.

The 37-year-old’s eye seemed to bother him as he slipped behind 0-3 early in the match before levelling at 4-4 and forcing a tiebreaker.

As in their first meeting, Mensik took the opening set 7-4 in a tiebreaker.

However, there was to be no comeback from Djokovic this time, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion looking weary on court as he battled an opponent almost half his age.

The Florida humidity seemed to be taking a toll as well and led to Djokovic collapsing five points into the second-set tiebreaker.

Mensik would win that 7-4 as well, sealing his place in history as just the fourth-ever player to win their maiden title at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

“I did [have belief],” Mensik said in his on-court interview.

“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.”

Mensik had not been on the radar of any top bookmakers heading into the event, paying well over $100 to win the title in pre-tournament markets.

Already, his odds to win the year’s next Grand Slam have shortened, with Neds bringing them in from triple digits to $67 for the 2025 French Open.

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