Just a month ago, 19-year-old Jakub Mensik’s ambitions for the season were grounded in staying healthy and testing his mettle against the elite, with a year-end Top 30 ranking as his primary goal. Fast forward a mere month, and Mensik has not only surpassed that goal but has also achieved the unexpected: claiming the 2025 Miami Open title. His stunning straight-sets victory over Novak Djokovic catapulted him to a career-high ranking of world number 24, making him the second-youngest champion in Miami and the first Czech to win an ATP Masters 1000 since Tomas Berdych in 2005. Even Nick Kyrgios, despite his disappointment at Djokovic’s loss, couldn’t help but acknowledge Mensik as a “special kid.”

Adding a layer to the drama of the Miami Open final, both Jakub Mensik and Novak Djokovic endured a grueling nearly six-hour rain delay before stepping onto the court. While such prolonged pre-match tension was familiar territory for the seasoned 37-year-old Djokovic, for the young Mensik, these hours likely represented the most mentally taxing of his burgeoning career. Mainly because Mensik’s journey to the Miami Open title almost ended before it began.

Just an hour before his first match, a knee issue had him on the verge of withdrawing. However, a quirk of fate – the tournament referee being unavailable due to lunch – allowed him to remain in the draw. What followed was nothing short of remarkable, fueled by what Mensik described as his physio Alejandro’s “miracle” work. With this, he was able to beat his “idol“, 7-6(4),7-6(4). With this win against Nole, he has now taken their H2H record to 1-1.

After seeing the 19-year-old bring an end to Novak Djokovic’s dream of clinching his 100th ATP Tour singles title, Kyrgios couldn’t resist showering praise on this young lad. Nick Kyrgios tweeted, “Mensik is truly something special. Not just to have such composure against the greatest of all time on such a stage, but the fact that he is 19….. this is truly a special kid with plenty of potential to do special things. ✨.“

Fun fact: Shortly after securing his emphatic victory against the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Mensik took a marker and wrote, “#1st of many” on the camera lens. 

Well, Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, came up with a tweet saying, “standing ovation 👏 for Mansik, came into @MiamiOpen with 8-6 record on the year, the 19-year-old gets his 1st @atptour 🏆 taking out Djoker 👊😎👌👍 💪 Holy Toledo.” 

Another American legend, Patrick McEnroe, also shared his thoughts on Mensik’s title triumph in Miami. He tweeted, “Wow. Mensik unreal. He wins @MiamiOpen over @DjokerNole 7-6 7-6 Title 100 will have to wait.”

As a result of this defeat, Novak Djokovic has now yet again failed to join Jimmy Connors (109) and the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer (103) as the only men in the Open Era with 100 or more career titles. Can he accomplish his long-awaited goal in this season itself? Time will tell! But what was his reaction after losing out to a player who is almost 18 years younger than him?

Disappointed Novak Djokovic refuses to take anything away from Jakub Mensik

Jakub Mensik has time and again admitted that he has grown up watching Novak Djokovic play. So, it was a dream-come-true moment for him to play against his idol in a final’s match. While sharing his thoughts on this epic final, he said, “There is no harder task in tennis than to beat him in the finals. 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.”

Fun fact: With this win, Mensik has now become the fourth player in the ATP Tour history to win their maiden singles title at a Masters 1000 event.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, who first saw Mensik’s potential at the 2022 AO Boys’ singles final(where he lost against Bruno Kuzuhara) and knew at that moment that his young lad had a “bright future” ahead of him., showcased his professionalism by offering his opponent a warm embrace.

Djokovic said, “I loved the fighting spirit, you know, when he was down in that finals I saw in Australia and obviously big game…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. I have seen him play when he was 15 or 16 and invited him, we had some training blocks together. He was training at my club in Belgrade, and, you know, to see his development and evolution is really great, amazing.“

What are your thoughts on Jakub Mensik’s performance at the 2025 Miami Open? Do you think he can win more titles this year?