19-year-old Mensik stuns Djokovic in Miami tournament final
Young Czech Jakub Mensik defeated Novak Djokovic in a tense Miami final, claiming his first ATP-level victory and soaring up the world rankings.
Photo: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0
19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik shocked the tennis world by defeating Novak Djokovic in the ATP 1000 final in Miami on March 30.
The match lasted 2 hours and 3 minutes, with Mensik winning in straight sets — both through tiebreaks. It marked the young player’s first victory at such a high-level tournament. With this triumph, he climbed from 54th to 24th in the ATP rankings.
Djokovic had previously beaten Mensik in Shanghai, but this time the Czech displayed composure and confidence, holding his nerve and overpowering the tennis legend in the key moments.
It’s worth noting that 19-year-old Jakub Mensik has rapidly broken into the world elite. He began his professional career in 2022, and by 2023 had already become the youngest Challenger champion in Czech Republic history.
That same year, he qualified for his first Grand Slam, winning a match at the US Open and matching Borna Ćorić's achievement.
In 2024, Jakub continued to rise: he reached the ATP final in Doha after defeating stars like Murray, Rublev, and Monfils, and later beat world No. 10 Dimitrov in Madrid.
He also performed well at the Olympics and Grand Slam events, although he sometimes lacked experience — losing key matches despite having match points.
Mensik plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand and is coached by Tomas Josefus.
Over the course of his career, he has already earned more than $1.5 million in prize money.