Miami Open: Jakub Menaink Beats Novak Djokovic To Win First ATP Singles Title

 

Jakub Mensik produced a sensational performance to oust Novak Djokovic in the Miami Open final and claimed his maiden ATP singles title. 

Djokovic, who seemed spent and fatigued, was neatly outperformed by the Czech in straight sets, 7-6(4) 7-6(4). Mensik battled against a resilient and determined Djokovic through the tiebreaks in the championship match, which could have been the Serbian's 100th ATP singles title—a milestone never reached before in tennis. Besides being a champion for the first time, he won the tournament for his first Masters 1000 title. 

"Congratulations to Mensik and his team. I'm never really happy to lose, but he's one of the few players I would be happier to lose to," said Djokovic, admitting his defeat. 

Mensik won his first and only break at 2-0 of the first set. He quickly gained a 4-1 lead before Djokovic rallied to force a tiebreak. The set lost was his first of the tournament. Djokovic was fired up in the second set, but Mensik forces a tiebreak with Djokovic already fatigued. 

"There is no harder task in tennis than to beat him in the finals," Mensik confessed. "But of course I felt really great and it's my time, so I just tried to focus on the match like I did before in previous rounds." 

The six-time champion, Djokovic, was denied his seventh Miami Masters 1000 title. Reaching a 100th ATP singles title continues to elude the 37-year-old since his last singles title at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2023. Though he won the Paris Olympics gold in 2024, his only title of the season, but that would not count for an ATP singles title. 

Mensik, 19, who is ranked world no. 54, became the first player outside of the top 50 to win a Masters 1000 title. Besides Stan Wawrinka, the Czech player is the second player of his ranking outside of top 50 to beat Djokovic in an ATP final.