Tennis

Miami Open: Jakub Mensik Takes Out Taylor Fritz, Faces Novak Djokovic In Final

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By
wendioliveros
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wendioliveros Sports Editor

Wendi Oliveros is a diehard tennis fan that is known to set her clock at ridiculous hours to watch live action especially during the Australian Open. She is known for indulging in strawberries and cream during Wimbledon and has watched the US Open live several times.

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Sports Editor

Published28 Mar 2025

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Mensik, an explanation of a new prodigy

19-year-old Jakub Mensik got the best of Taylor Fritz in two-set tiebreaks, and that was the difference in their semifinal.  Fritz could not get a handle on the Mensik serve for the majority of the match except for one break in the second set.

After the match, Mensik credited his good fortune to meeting soccer superstar Lionel Messi at the Miami Open on Friday.  He said he did not wash his hands after shaking hands with Messi.

Fritz did not show any residual fatigue from his marathon match with Matteo Berrettini last night and very little separated the two.

Mensik will need to play his best tennis and then some to defeat Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final. He sailed through his match with Grigor Dimitrov earlier in the day.  It was good to see Dimitrov was able to play despite a scary finish for him on Wednesday, where he had to be helped off the court and ultimately went to the locker room in a wheelchair.

Djokovic is vying for his 100th career title, a feat that only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have surpassed.

Can Jakub Mensik Pull Off The Big Upset Over Novak Djokovic?

This upset would be bigger than his fellow teenager Alexander Eala‘s over Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.

Will he be able to manage the crowd, his nerves, Djokovic’s game, and be a tennis history spoiler on Sunday?

His serve will need to be as steady and mysterious as it was against Fritz.

Mensik has one career loss to Djokovic, whom he describes as his idol. It happened last year, in a three-set bout, at Shanghai in the quarterfinals.

Watch Jakub Mensik take on Novak Djokovic in the Miami Open final on Sunday, March 30, on the Tennis Channel.