Table of Contents
- Jakub Mensik is a 19-year-old tennis player from Czech Republic
- He beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win his first ATP Master 1000 title
- Mensik had contemplated withdrawing from the tournament due to a knee injury
Jakub Mensik surprised Novak Djokovic, denying him victory at the Miami Open final to clinch his first ATP Tour title.
Mensik, a 19-year-old Czech tennis player, beat Djokovic in straight sets 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4). He was in disbelief that he won his first Masters 1000 title and a trophy for the ATP Tour.
The match went down in Florida on Sunday night, and the Serbian couldn’t keep up with the teenager. He thwarted Djokovic’s bid to win the Miami Open for the seventh time.
He holds a record in the Open era history of winning the Miami Open six times, the same as Andre Agassi.
How Jakub Mensik Won 2025 Miami Open by Defeating Novak Djokovic
The Czech teenager described his victory over Djokovic as a miracle. He started the ATP Masters 1000 competition in poor form due to a knee injury.
Jakub Mensik, now the 2025 Miami Open winner, contemplated withdrawing from the tournament due to the injury. However, Alejandro, an ATP physiotherapist, gave him medical support that kept him going.
Czech tennis player Jakub Mensik with Novak Djokovic. Mensik beat Djokovic in the Miami Open final to win his maiden ATP Tour trophy. Photo/Sky Sports
In his speech during the award ceremony in Florida, Mensik said that his mind was made up to withdraw from the tournament ‘one hour before to his first match.’
Alejandro persuaded him to keep playing, and he treated him so well that the pain in his knee was gone when he played his first match.
He beat Roberto Bautista Agut in his first-round match. He advanced to the second round, where he beat Jack Draper – a Miami Open champion – and Roman Safiullin in his third round.
Tomas Machac withdrew in the fourth round, giving Jakub Mensik a direct ticket to the quarterfinal. He played against Arthur Fills and Taylor Fritz and won.
Fast forward to the final, he wasn’t sure how the match would turn out. The fact that Djokovic has 24 Grand Slams and 99 ATP singles wins sent shreds of fear into his system.
Djokovic had trouble with his right eye during the match. It was swollen, and he had to use eye drops. Also, he resorted to using sawdust to improve his grip on the racket due to the intense humid conditions in Florida.
Winning Miami Open
Even with moments of doubt, Mensik took on the legendary tennis icon who inspired him to play tennis. He defeated the 37-year-old in straight sets.
19-year-old tennis star from Czech Republic Jakub Mensik won the 2025 Miami Open. Photo/Miami Open
Ironically, the Czech was only 10 months old in 2006 when Djokovic won his first ATP Tour title. Nineteen years later, Jakub Mensik denied the Serbian tennis star a 100th ATP singles win.
He thanked Djokovic for training with him as a junior player back in 2022 in Melbourne at the Australian Open. His experience training with the Serbian gave him a new purpose, and all he wanted was to play professionally in the ATP Tour.
Mensik rewrote history in the history of the Open era by becoming one of two players to beat Djokovic with an ATP Miairanking above the top 50.
The Czech beat Djokovic at world no.54 while in 2006, Wawrinka, ranked at world no.69, beat Djokovic to win the Umag final.
His Miami Open victory pushed his ATP ranking to world No 24. Mensik said his hardest task in achieving this ranking was beating Djokovic in an ATP Masters 1000 final.
He credits his success in this match to focus, which enabled him to defeat Djokovic, the man he had always idolized. Djokovic admitted that Mensik played better than he did and wished him luck in his tennis career.
