Hours before his Miami first-round match, Jakub Mensik walked gingerly to the referee's office to withdraw from the event. When the official was out to lunch, the 19-year-old Czech visited the physiotherapist, who deemed his knee injury minor and encouraged him to play.
With the help of treatment and painkillers, the unseeded Mensik was able to compete and win his opener last Thursday. Ten days after he could hardly walk, he was the last man standing Sunday at the ATP Masters 1000.
Mensik edged his idol Novak Djokovic, 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in a rain-delayed final to win his first ATP title, capping a breakout run in which he won all seven tiebreaks he played and beat the likes of Indian Wells champion Jack Draper, French phenom Arthur Fils and US Open finalist Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic, who was seeking his 100th tour-level title, has become a mentor for the rising Czech star in recent years. The Serb invited Mensik to train with him after watching the youngster lose a three-set thriller to American Bruno Kuzuhara in the 2022 Australian Open final, and the pair have been close since.
"I was watching him growing up. Because of him I started to play tennis," Mensik said of Djokovic, who beat him last October in Shanghai in their first meeting. "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 final, 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."
“Congratulations to Mensik and his team. Never really happy to lose, but he's one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to, to be honest,” said Djokovic, who was affected by a reported stye under his right eye during the final. “I could see back then [in 2022] already—three, four years ago—that he's going to be one of the top players of the world. I’m super glad that he's using the potential that he has, because he's got the complete game."
Djokovic praised his opponent's "incredible, powerful, precise" serve as well as his movement and baseline game. Mensik allowed just one break point in the final, hitting 14 aces and winning 77% (40/52) points on first serve against the game's most revered returner. In a 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4) victory against Fritz in the semis, Mensik hit 25 aces and saved the only two break points he faced. He hit 111 total aces in his six Miami wins.
The second-youngest champion in Miami history—behind only Carlos Alcaraz, who won at in 2022—Mensik rocketed up 30 spots to a career-high of world No. 24. With that jump on Monday, he passed Jiri Lehecka to become the No. 2 man from Czechia behind No. 21 Tomas Machac.
In Saturday's Miami women's final, a rematch of the 2024 US Open championship, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka again defeated Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 6-2, to win her first trophy at the WTA 1000 event.
After narrow defeats in her past two finals this year at the Australian Open (vs. Madison Keys) and Indian Wells (vs. Mirra Andreeva), Sabalenka picked up her 19th WTA singles title and her second of the season (Brisbane).
"Finally I was able to play my best tennis in the final, and I'm just super happy with the result and with the performance," said the reigning US Open champ, who did not drop a set in her Miami run.
