Miami

Mensik's Miami moment: 'Playing against Djokovic made it more special'

Jakub Mensik spent his childhood watching Novak Djokovic win titles on the ATP Tour. On Sunday night he beat his idol to capture his first tour-level trophy at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Speaking to the media after the match, the 19-year-old Czech began to process what he had achieved.

“It means a lot. That's for sure all I'm saying. The feelings will come a little bit later, but even now, I'm starting to realise that it was incredible, all the two weeks, actually,” Mensik said in his post-match press conference. “My game was getting better and better. Winning tonight against Novak in the tie-breaks feels crazy, incredible.

“I was watching him growing up. Because of him I started to play tennis. So it just feels incredible that I had the opportunity for a second time to play against him. And to beat him in this tournament in the finals, which was just a dream to win an ATP tournament, and even better that it's a Masters 1000. Playing against Novak in the finals makes it more special.”

Mensik, who is up 30 spots to a career-high No. 24 in the PIF ATP Rankings, enjoyed a dream run at the ATP Masters 1000 in Florida, where he also defeated Top 10 stars Taylor Fritz and Jack Draper.

However, the past fortnight could have been entirely different for the Czech, who was on the verge of withdrawing from the event prior to his first-round match.

“Two days before the first match, I started to feel my knee. I checked with the doctors, with everyone,” Mensik said. “There was nothing spectacular. It was just a big inflammation. I couldn't walk, I couldn't run. I started to take painkillers. Nothing was helping. Actually during the match day it was the same as it was the day before. I tried to step on the treadmill. I couldn't move. I was, like, ‘Okay, well, that's it, I'm pulling out’.

“I didn't do anything. I just went to the doctor's office to take the paper. I was going to the physios while I was visiting the referee's office to say, ‘Guys, I'm pulling out’. But he was having lunch. So I went [to] visit the physios first… He started to do a couple of treatments [for 30 minutes]. He was saying to me, 'It's nothing serious, You can play with this pain and nothing can happen'. After a few minutes I was starting to feel little relief. I took different painkillers, which helped a little bit. Then 30 minutes before the match I could run.

“Somehow I won the first round, and then I had one day off, which of course for my knee was much better. Day by day the knee was getting better and with that also my game.”

#NextGenATP Mensik fired 97 aces en route to the final, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and was impressive once again on serve in the title match, hitting 14 aces to earn a 7-6(4), 7-6(4) win against Djokovic, who will have to wait for his elusive 100th title. Following the 19-year-old’s win, Mensik and Djokovic shared an emotional embrace at the net.

“You can just see how incredible a person he is,” Mensik said on Djokovic. “He's a true champion because otherwise he wouldn't show this kind of respect. Even with all those titles and everything that he accomplished already in this sport and he's still competing in the finals of the biggest tournaments on the ATP Tour.

“Playing with him and hearing him say those words, it's the reason why I'm doing this and also that I'm really on a good path and that I'm doing a great job. Because of him, I started to play tennis… Playing against him in the finals, that just feels incredible.”

"It hurts me to admit it but you were better!" 😅@DjokerNole has high praise for @mensik_jakub_ 🫶@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ELq9S0smjT

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 31, 2025

While 37-year-old Djokovic will hope to have another shot at title No. 100 further down the line, the 19-year-old Mensik is likely to be a prominent figure in the latter stages of events for years to come. Following his triumph, Mensik wrote, ‘#1st of many’, on the camera lens.

“I know that this is not the end and I know that this is just the beginning for me,” said Mensik, who is the second-youngest titlist in tournament history behind Carlos Alcaraz. “I'm still 19 years old, so I have all of my career in front of me. It feels really great to have this next to me, but it's not just about the one title, one tournament, I'm hungry for more.

“Right now I will celebrate, rest. When I come back home, I go back to work and try to get better and better, because still there is a lot of space for improvement in my game, so I will, me and my team, will do my best to lift these trophies more often.”

Mensik is the latest star from the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF field to make his mark on the big stage. Jeddah champion Joao Fonseca lifted his maiden tour-level title in Buenos Aires in February, while Learner Tien has clinched Top 5 wins against Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev this year.