Have I mentioned that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Miami Open?
The men’s final on stadium court was well worth the wait for fans who endured the rain delay.
Jakub Mensik, a 19-year-old standing 6 feet 4 inches tall, achieved a significant milestone by winning his first title after successfully competing against 37-year-old Novak Djokovic in two tiebreakers, with scores of 7-6, 7-6.
“Novak is the reason why I play tennis,” Mensik said. He is my idol, this win is incredible.”
Entering the tournament ranked 54th, Mensik recorded 14 aces and was broken once.
“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. I feel just super happy, and I think that the feelings will come later.”
Djokovic was aiming to secure his 100th career title and his seventh Miami Open championship.
“It is bitter sweet because of the lost,” Djokovic said. But Miami brought me a lot of joy.”
Novak Djokovic had not participated in the Miami tournament since 2019.
The scale of Mensik’s achievement at such a tender age was reflected in the words offered to the Czech by his childhood idol and ATP Tour great Djokovic, who was once again foiled in his bid to claim his 100th tour-level title.
“This is Jakub’s moment — moment of his team, moment of his family. Congratulations, unbelievable tournament,” said Djokovic at the trophy ceremony. “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.”
Teenager Mirra Andreeva continued her recent successful performance at WTA Masters 1000 events by winning the Miami Open doubles title alongside partner Diana Shnaider. This achievement follows their previous wins in singles at the Dubai and Indian Wells WTA Masters 1000 tournaments. Andreeva and Shnaider defeated Cristina Bucsa and Miyu Kato with a score of 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-2. This victory adds the Miami Open doubles title to their previous titles at WTA Brisbane and their Olympic silver medal. As a result, they have moved up to second place in the PIF Race to the WTA Finals for doubles.
The Publix Padel Cup, introduced as a new feature for the 40th edition of the Miami Open, recognized its inaugural champions in both the Men’s and Women’s Division 1 categories. Vinny di Francesco and Rodrigo Coello secured the men’s title after defeating Juan Manuel Vazquez and Jose Carlos Gaspar Campos with scores of 6-2, 7-6. In the women’s division, Brittany Dubins and Laura Lujan emerged victorious, overcoming Anna Cortiles and Luicelana Perez with scores of 6-3, 6-1.
Photos/Miami Open presented by Itaú
4 thoughts