Teenager Jakub Mensik denies Novak Djokovic 100th title in Miami Open upset

Czech teenager Jakub Mensik grew up idolizing Novak Djokovic. On Sunday in Miami, after a more than five-and-a-half hour rain delay, the 19-year-old from Prostejov denied his hero a milestone victory with one of his own.

With a 7-6(4), 7-6(4) win in the final of the Miami Open, Mensik captured his first career ATP singles title at any level, and stopped Djokovic from joining the exclusive club of men who've won 100 or more singles titles in tennis history, which currently is made up of only Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander, born 20 years ago while Djokovic was in the midst of making his US Open debut, is the first man from his nation to win a Masters 1000 title since Tomas Berdych in 2005, and handed the Serb just his second career defeat in Miami in the quarterfinals or beyond.

"To be honest, I don't know what to say. It feels incredible, obviously," Mensik said in his on-court interview. "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."

"There is no harder task in tennis than to beat him in the finals," Mensik continued. "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."

In a final which featured the largest age gap at a Masters 1000 event since the series began in 1990, and biggest in any ATP singles final nearly 50 years, Mensik didn't look like a player who was playing a junior Grand Slam final just three years ago, and only made his first tour-level final last year. He served 14 aces against arguably the greatest returner in tennis history, and kept Djokovic off-balance with a barrage of heavy grounstrokes to boot.

To start the match, Mensik sprinted out to a 3-0 lead as Djokovic struggled with an issue affecting his right eye. He regrouped when Djokovic, who used eye drops to control a reported stye during changeovers, won four of the next five games to level, and stayed composed when the biggest moments came. In the first-set tiebreak, he started with a 5-0 lead, and celebrated with a roar after hammering down an overhead smash on set point at 6-4.

Read more: Jakub Mensik becomes first teenager ever to beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets in a completed tour-level match

And after winning two tiebreaks against Indian Wells champion Jack Draper in the second round, and two more against Taylor Fritz in a three-set semifinal, Mensik had more than enough wind in his sails when the scoreboard hit 6-6 a second time to finish off Djokovic, too.

Djokovic hadn't lost a final in Miami since his now-coach, Andy Murray, beat him in Key Biscayne back in 2009. But while he was undid that day by a player who could out-fox him, he was toppled in Hard Rock Stadium by one who out-hit him. Mensik hit 29 winners in victory, faced just one break point all match, and won 77% of his first-serve points.

"This is Jakub's moment—moment of his team, moment of his family. Congratulations, unbelievable tournament," Djokovic said in his runner-up speech. "It hurts me to admit it, but you were better! In the clutch moments, you delivered the goods [with] unbelievable serving and just a phenomenal effort mentally as well to stay tough in a difficult moment."

Mensik is the ninth-youngest ATP Masters 1000 champion in series history and second-youngest in Miami behind Carlos Alcaraz, who was 18 when he won in 2022. And as he signed the broadcast camera in the aftermath of his crowning moment, it's no doubt that this trophy lift is the first of many.