Djokovic falls to young Mensik in Miami and misses out on his 100th title

One step away from the 100th title of his career, Novak Djokovic succumbed Sunday in the Miami Masters 1000 final to Czech Jakub Mensik, a promising 19-year-old who grew up idolizing the Serbian giant.

Mensik, the second-youngest champion of this prestigious tournament, beat Djokovic 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4) to win his first ATP title.

Djokovic, 18 years older than Mensik, missed a second chance to reach the 100th title on a fateful night when he battled an eye problem and extreme humidity on the court.

'Nole' congratulated an emotional Mensik with a hug at the net after visibly fatigued finishing the final, which started six hours late due to rain.

"Novak, everyone knows you are the one. When I was young I started to play tennis because of you," Mensik said at the awards ceremony.

"Thank you for everything you have done for this sport," he said."There is no more difficult task for a tennis player than to beat you in a final."

"Congratulations on this amazing tournament. It hurts me to admit it, but you were better. In the clutch moments, you delivered the goods," Djokovic acknowledged him in turn.

"For a young player like yourself, this is a great feature. Something you will use many times in the future," he noted. "Maybe you'll let me win some of the next times we play, because you still have a lot of time ahead of you, and I don't have that much."

Djokovic, who had already lost the Shanghai Masters 1000 final in October, will still not join the only two members of the centenary club: Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103).

This is one of the few milestones missing from the exuberant palmarès of Djokovic, King of the Grand Slams with 24 crowns and Olympic gold at the Paris-2024 Games, the 99th title of his career.

Trouble in one eye

In his former fiefdom of Miami, where he had won his sixth and final title in 2016, 'Nole' re-emerged in style after the doubts generated by his Australian Open injury and falls in the Doha and Indian Wells openers.

"I've been struggling to find my level, and here I've enjoyed every match like no other tournament in the last two years," thanked the Serb, absent from Florida since 2019.

Djokovic, who was set to become the oldest Masters 1000 champion, was denied glory this time by the fearless Mensik, an emerging talent knocking on the door of the new generation led by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner.

Number 54 in the ATP and with a record that was about to be released, the Czech annihilated the odds and ratified that he thrives against the greatest, with an amazing record of 8 wins in 13 duels against players in the Top-10 of the ATP.

Mensik attacked Djokovic with his explosive serve (14 aces to his opponent's seven) but also with other brave strokes in decisive moments.

The Czech promise had cold blood to withstand the reaction of 'Nole,' who recovered from an uncomfortable first set with several falls due to slips and discomfort in his right eye, which he relieved by applying liquid in the breaks.

Under a humidity close to 90%, the Serb's energies were running out, and he had to squeeze all his resources to reach a second tie-break, in which he facilitated Mensik's triumph with several unforced errors.

With this unexpected victory, the Czech became the second youngest champion of Miami after Alcaraz, who won in 2022 at the age of 18, and the fourth earliest champion of a Masters 1000 tournament.

"The first of many," Mensik augured in the message initialed on the television camera.