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At the Miami Open on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, Czech teenager Jakub Mensik defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), denying the Serbian legend his 100th single career title. With an incredible performance of explosive tennis, the 19-year-old, who is currently ranked 54th in the world, won his maiden victory on the ATP Tour. Heavy rain caused the final to be postponed by over six hours, and it was evident that Djokovic had an eye infection when the players came out. During a changeover in the first set, he applied eye drops.
Mensik began to dominate the match by breaking Djokovic's first serve game to take a 2-0 lead. However, at 4-2, Djokovic responded when Mensik found the net. The set stayed on serve after that, but Mensik took the lead early in the tie-break thanks to his strong serve with two aces. He took a 5-0 lead, and even though 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic rallied, the teenage player's overhead volley ended the set. In the entire tournament, it was the first set Djokovic had dropped. He changed his shoes in between sets and lost his footing twice, landing on his back.
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In their lone previous encounter in Shanghai, Mensik had defeated Djokovic by precisely the same margin in the opening set before falling short in three sets. But he seemed to have the advantage this time. However, neither player was able to break in the second set, which was a close match. Mensik's strength won the tie-break once more, and when Djokovic went long on a return to give him the victory, he collapsed on his back in joy.
"To be honest I don't know what to say. It feels incredible, obviously. It was probably the biggest day of my life and I did super, which I'm really glad (about), to show the performance and keep the nerves outside of the court before the match. I feel just super happy and I think that the feelings will come later," Mensik said in his on-court interview.
After the match, Djokovic praised the Czech's performance but refused to talk about his eye condition.
"This is Jakub's moment, a moment of his team, a moment of his family. Congratulations, unbelievable tournament. It hurts me to admit it, but you were better. In a clutch moment, you delivered the goods. Unbelievable serving and just a phenomenal effort mentally as well to stay tough in a difficult moment. For a young player like yourself, this is a great feature. Something that I'm sure you will use many times in the years to follow," Djokovic said.
It was the biggest age gap in a Masters 1000 final and the largest in any tour-level final since 1976 when the 37-year-old Djokovic and Mensik faced off.
