Novak Djokovic was unable to win his 100th ATP title after suffering a straight sets defeat to Jakub Mensik in the Miami Open final.
Djokovic and Mensik made history as part of the final in Miami, with the Czech upsetting the odds after beating the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
This has been the conclusion of an impressive run for Mensik, who beat Jack Draper in just his second round match.
After being beaten in the final by Mensik, it is the first time that the Serbian has lost a Miami Open final since Djokovic was beaten by coach Andy Murray in 2009.
Novak Djokovic says what was weird about Miami Open final with Jakub Mensik
Djokovic had been full of praise for Mensik earlier on in the Miami tournament, and has continued this in his post-final press conference.
After losing two tie-break sets, Djokovic revealed that he knew Mensik’s promise since training with him as a teenager.
However, following an over five hour delay to the final starting due to bad weather, he also admitted that it was a weird day.
“Yeah, congratulations to Mensik and his team,” said Djokovic. “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.
“I could see back then already that three, four years ago that he’s going to be, you know, 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. Obviously his serve is incredible, powerful, precise, wins a lot of free points with the first serve.
“Backhand, as well, you know. Czech school, they always have a great backhand (smiling). But forehand, he’s improved a lot. And movement for a tall, big guy like that, he slides and moves well.
He still can improve, of course. So I’m sure we’ll be seeing him around.
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate for me. Two tiebreaks, just very weird match, weird day with rain delay and all the things that is happening. Honestly, yeah, I didn’t feel my greatest on the court, but it is what it is. Nothing to take away from his victory.”
The rain delay was not the only thing that appeared to be impacting Djokovic during the Miami Open final.
Novak Djokovic says whether his eye affected his Miami Open performance
In the hours while the final was getting pushed back, an image of Djokovic’s seemingly swollen eye began to circulate on social media.
Although when this topic was brought to Djokovic asking whether it impacted his vision he did not want to go into any too much detail.
“As I answered before, I don’t want to get into details, but just it is what it is,” said the 37-year-old. “You know, it’s same for both players. You have to accept the circumstances.
“I tried to make the most out of what I had or what I was facing, but yeah, it was quite different from any other day of the tournament for me.”
Despite losing the Miami Open final, Djokovic has now risen to fourth in the race to the ATP Finals.
Djokovic will now turn his attention to the clay court season, with his next tournament coming at the Monte Carlo Masters.
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