Jakub Mensik has claimed the biggest title of his career, winning the Miami Open after coming through against Novak Djokovic in the final.
Both players saw their preparations hampered by some adverse weather in the United States.
The players eventually did get on the court and served up a closely fought contest, with Mensik winning two tie-breaker sets to win 7-6, 7-6 against the legendary player.
The result means that Djokovic still hasn’t won a title since winning gold at the Olympics back in August.
For Mensik, it’s the biggest win of his career, with the Czech player claiming his first singles title and moving up to a career-best world ranking of number 24.
Novak Djokovic shares where Jakub Mensik has really improved
As a serial winner, Djokovic will be keen to get back among the titles, although reaching the final here does offer some hope for 2025.
The 37-year-old will be desperate to win that elusive 25th Grand Slam title and has three more chances to do that this year.
After losing to Mensik in a rain-impacted final, Djokovic shared the one shot that the youngster now hits much better than he previously had in his career.
He said in his press conference: “I mean, the serve consistency, I think he was serving even better than he was serving in Shanghai, and there he was serving really well.
“I think the game was similar, but my level was not like it was in Shanghai.
“I mean, overall, obviously now a bitter taste because of the loss, but Miami, as I said on the court, really brought me a lot of joy and really good sensations on and off the court.
“I was very welcomed very nicely be people and supporters. Incredible again tonight, great support from the stadium in the match. They were pushing me on and trying to give me strength for a comeback.
“Very grateful. I just enjoyed my experience overall. It was an amazing run. Unfortunately, it ended with a lot in the finals, but I played some really good tennis up to today.”
Mensik will want to emulate Tomas Berdych
When you think of men’s tennis in the Czech Republic, it’s impossible not to think of Berdych.
He sat as the fourth best player in the world in 2015, during a period where Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were all playing brilliant tennis.
Berdych never won a Grand Slam title but he reached the semis at three of them and reached a Wimbledon final in 2010.
Now, the emphasis is on Mensik to carry the torch for Czech tennis and he’s made a quality start to his career by lifting this title.
The 19-year-old will now hope to take this form into the next events, with players starting to look towards the French Open, which gets underway in May.
Mensik has never played in the main draw at Roland Garros and he will undoubtedly be taking confidence into the rest of the year after beating a player like Djokovic to claim this title.
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