Jakub Mensik hopes his Miami Open success would be the first of many after the teenage Czech accomplished arguably the toughest process in tennis by defeating the good Novak Djokovic in an enormous closing.
“I’m still 19, so I have all of my career in front of me. It feels great to have this (trophy) next to me, but it’s not just about the one title, one tournament… I’m hungry for more.”
Mensik didn’t mince his phrases after he beat his childhood idol in an upset for the ages, claiming his first ATP title as he denied the previous No 1 in his bid for a milestone one centesimal.
He clearly has a style for fulfillment.
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Highlights of Mensik’s victory in opposition to Djokovic within the closing of the Miami Open
Jakub Mensik, Arthur Fils and Joao Fonseca are a part of the Subsequent Gen stars coming by on the skilled circuit
Mensik, who beat world No 4 Taylor Fritz within the semi-final and Indian Wells champion Jack Draper in an earlier spherical, will rise to a career-best No 24 within the newest ATP rankings, two years after he was ranked 390th on this planet.
He additionally grew to become the primary Czech participant to win an ATP Masters 1000 occasion since Tomas Berdych prevailed in 2005 in Paris.
Mensik ploughed by the 24-time Grand Slam champion with poise and stellar 130 mph serves, hammering down 14 aces, and was damaged solely as soon as as Djokovic was denied his one centesimal profession title and a file seventh on the Miami Open.
“Never really happy to lose, but there was he’s one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to, to be honest. I’ve 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 to see his development and evolution is really great, amazing,” stated 37-year-old Djokovic.
“I could see back then already that three, four years ago that he’s going to be one of the top players of the world. So, I’m super glad that he is using the potential that he has because he’s got a complete game.
“He serves unimaginable, highly effective, exact, wins loads of free factors with the primary serve. Backhand as effectively, his forehand has improved so much and his motion for a tall large man like that, he slides and strikes effectively. And he nonetheless can enhance in fact, so I am positive we’ll be seeing him round.”
Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios took to social media, calling Mensik “special” because the Prostejov native delivered on his potential along with his maiden title.
“Mensik is truly something special. Not just to have such composure against the greatest of all time on such a stage, but the fact that he is 19….. this is truly a special kid with plenty of potential to do special things.”
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Mensik revealed he practically pulled out of the Miami Open on account of ache in his knee
Who’s Jakub Mensik?
The gifted 19-year-old, nicknamed ‘Menimal’, loves spare ribs and towers above his opponents at 6ft 4in. He’s quick following within the footsteps of legendary Czechs Petra Kvitova and Tomas Berdych.
At 17, he grew to become the youngest man since Borna Coric in 2014 to win a main-draw match on the US Open and made it by to the third spherical in 2023, the place Fritz ended his event.
Mensik even acquired an surprising invite to follow with Djokovic after his breakthrough.
“I mean, playing with Novak or being part of his preparation, it was very important for me,” he mirrored. “Such a good experience because it pushed me a lot. When you can spend some time with the best player in the world, maybe in history, I don’t even know what to say… I learned a lot of things.”
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Watch how Mensik defeated Andy Murray en path to the Qatar Open closing final yr
Mensik reached his first tour-level closing in 2024 on the Qatar Open the place he defeated Andy Murray and prime seed Andrey Rublev earlier than shedding within the closing to Karen Khachanov.
He then upset Grigor Dimitrov en path to the Madrid Masters third spherical after which made the third spherical of the US Open for the second yr operating.
The gifted teen surprised sixth seed Casper Ruud within the second spherical of the Australian Open however went out within the subsequent spherical to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
He then suffered a dip in kind following his exploits in Melbourne. Nonetheless, the Miami Open has seen a resurgence in kind from the Czech the place he confirmed maturity past his years to grasp an all-time nice.
Mensik is a part of a era of younger gamers coming by that features Brazilian wonderkid Joao Fonseca, American Learner Tien and Frenchman Arthur Fils.
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