Unseeded teenager Jakub Mensik truncated the ambition of childhood idol Novak Djokovic from winning the Miami Open, having come close to withdrawing with a knee injury hours before his first-round match.
Czech Mensik, 19, went to the referee’s room to announce his withdrawal before his opener against Roberto Bautista Agut on 20 March, but the official was out for lunch.
He then went to the physiotherapist to ask them to fill in paperwork confirming his withdrawal, but was persuaded to stay on.
“I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t run,” he said. “I started to treat it, started to take painkillers. Nothing was helping.
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“I was visiting the referee’s office to say ‘guys, I’m pulling out’, but he was having lunch.”
Mensik went to a physiotherapist, who deemed the injury not to be serious and began treatment to enable him to compete.
“After a few minutes I started to feel a little relief,” said Mensik, who has risen to a career-high 24th in the world rankings.
“I took different painkillers, which helped a little bit. I was like, ‘OK, let’s try it. It’s like 30 minutes before the match. I can walk. I can run. Let’s see’.
“Somehow I won the first round and then I had one day off, which of course, for my knee was much better. Day by day the knee was getting better and with that also my game.”
Mensik dropped just two sets on his run to the final, which included victories over British number one Jack Draper and fourth seed Taylor Fritz.
He clinched a first ATP Tour title with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) win over Serbia’s Djokovic on a sticky, humid night in Florida.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, had been bidding to become just the third man in the Open era to win 100 singles titles.
However, the 37-year-old’s wait will go on after his loss to Mensik, who was just 10 months old when Djokovic won his first title in 2006.
Mensik is the ninth-youngest Masters 1000 champion and the second-youngest in Miami after Carlos Alcaraz.
He is another rising star in the men’s game, possessing a huge serve and a thumping backhand that has taken him inside the world’s top 50.
Djokovic invited Mensik to practise with him after the 2022 Australian Open when he was still a junior, and Mensik said in his winner’s speech that Djokovic was “the reason I am here”.
He said: “It’s just crazy and unbelievable what he’s achieving in this sport during long period of the time
“Imagine me in 20 years from now, when I will be 39, playing the finals? I hope so, but it’s crazy to think about it like this.”
Fourth seed Djokovic warmly congratulated Mensik at the end of the match and said afterwards: “It hurts me to admit it but you were better.
“I wish you the best of luck. Maybe you’ll let me win one of the next times we play.”
The win capped a dream run through the tournament for Mensik, who upset third seed Taylor Fritz en route to the final.
