Jakub Mensik hopes that his open success in Miami will be a lot more after the teenage Czechs have completed the most difficult task in tennis by beating the great Novak Djokovic in the big final.
“I’m only 19, so I’m before every career. It feels great to have this (trophy) next to me, but it’s not just a title, it’s one tournament… I’m hungry more.”
Mensik did not etch his words after defeating his childhood idol with age upset.
He clearly has a preference for success.
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Highlights of Mensik’s victory over Djokovic in the Miami open image final: Jakub Mensik, Arthur Fils and Joao Fonseca are some of the upcoming Gen stars on the professional circuit
Mensik, who defeated World No. 4 Taylor Fritz in his previous round with semi-finals and Indian Wells champion Jack Draper, will rise to his career-high No. 24 in his latest ATP rankings two years after being ranked 390th in the world.
He also became the first Czech player to win the ATP Masters 1000 event since it became popular in Paris in 2005.
Mensic only broke once as he beat the 24-time Grand Slam champions, hit 14 aces and 14 aces, Djokovic was rejected for his 100th career title and placed seventh in the Miami Open.
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“I’ll never lose, but he made me happy about losing and to be honest, he was one of the few players. I saw him play and invited him when he was 15 or 16. We had some training blocks together.
“We already saw him become one of the top players in the world four years ago, so we’re so happy he’s using the possibilities he has because he has a full game.
“He is incredibly powerful, serves accurately and earns many free points on his first serve. His forehand also improves a lot, and his movements for such a tall, big guy, he slides and moves.
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Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has taken to social media and called Mensik a “special” from Prostaho Jov.
“Mensik is really special. Not only does he have that calmness towards the greatest ever at that stage, but the fact that he is 19 years old is…. This is a special kid with so many possibilities to do something really special.”
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Mensic revealed that he nearly escaped from Miami’s open spot due to knee pain.
Who is Jakub Mensik?
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The talented 19-year-old, dubbed the “menimal,” loves his spare ribs and towers on top of his 6-foot-4-inch enemies. He follows in the footsteps of legendary Czech Czech Petra Kvitova and Thomas Berdich.
At 17, he became the youngest man since Borna Coric in 2014, winning the main draw match at US Open, and advanced to the third round in 2023, when Fritz finished the tournament.
Mensic received an unexpected invitation to practice with Djokovic after the breakthrough.
“So it was very important to me to play with Novak and be part of his preparation,” he recalled. “It pushed me a lot, so this is such a good experience. I don’t know what to say in history with the best player in the world… I’ve learned a lot.”
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See how Mensik defeated Andy Murray on his way to the Qatar Open Finals last year
Mensic reached his first tour-level final at the Qatar Open in 2024, beating Andy Murray and top-seeded Andreil Brev, losing to the final to Karen Khachanov.
He then upset Grigor Dimitrov towards the third round for the Madrid Masters, holding his second third round.
The talented youngster surprised the sixth seed Casperlude in the second round of the Australian Open, but headed out to Alejandro Davidevich Fokina in the next round.
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He then suffered dips in form after an exploit in Melbourne. However, seeing a revival from the Czechs, he showed maturity beyond his years to master the greatest master of all time.
Mensik is part of a generation of young players, including Brazilian Wonder Kid Joao Fonseca, American learner Tien and Frenchman Arthur Phils.
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