Miami Open 2025: Jakub Mensik creates history by pulling off a big upset, stops Djokovic from winning 100th title
Miami Open 2025: Mencic said in his on-court interview, "Honestly, I don't know what to say. It feels unbelievable, obviously. It was probably the biggest day of my life and I played great, which I'm really happy about, to show the performance off the court before the match and keep myself in control. I'm very happy and I think the emotions will come later."
Jakub Mensik broke history by defeating six-time Miami Open winner Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(4) for the Miami Open crown despite the rain and running behind the opponent. The 19-year-old Czech thwarted Djokovic from winning his 100th title on the circuit and became the second-youngest Miami Open winner in history following Carlos Alcaraz, the title winner of 2022 at the age of 18.
"To be honest, I don't know what to say. It feels unbelievable, obviously. It was probably the biggest day of my life and I played great, which I'm really happy about, to show the performance off the court before the match and to keep myself in control. I'm very happy and I think the emotions will come later," Mensik said in his on-court interview.
"It wasn't the first time I've played against Novak," Mensik said. Mensik lost his first ATP clash against his idol Djokovic in the Shanghai quarterfinals last year. He said, "There is no more difficult task in tennis than beating him in the final. But of course, I felt really good and it was my time, so I tried to focus on the match as I did in the previous rounds." Mensik also became the first player from his country to win an ATP Masters 1000 event since Tomas Berdych's victory in Paris in 2005.
Djokovic, who missed out on winning his 100th title, said, "This is Jakub's moment - his team's moment, his family's moment. Congratulations, incredible tournament. I'm sad to admit this, but you were better! In important moments, you played well with incredible service and made a great effort to stay mentally strong even in difficult times."
In the match, which started about six hours late due to rain in Florida, Djokovic was struggling with a problem under his right eye. According to the ATP report, the 37-year-old was constantly reaching for his eye and was using eye drops during changeovers.
Mensic was born in September 2005, when Djokovic was already in the top 100 of the ATP rankings. The 18-year age gap between them is the largest age gap among ATP Masters 1000 finalists.
