In Mumbai, there’s a saying: “Never meet your heroes.” But Jakub Mensik, a 19-year-old tennis player from the Czech Republic, just did that — and he won! In an exciting ATP Masters final, he faced his idol, Novak Djokovic, and came out on top in two nail-biting tiebreaks. After the match, Jakub fell to the ground in joy and then hugged Djokovic, who smiled back gracefully. “Because of him, I started playing tennis,” Jakub said, sharing how much the legend meant to him.
Novak Djokovic, 37, is known for his fierce competitiveness. He’s aiming for his 100th tour title, so losing in the finals wasn’t easy for him. Yet, he praised Jakub, saying he was one of the few players he’d happily lose to, showing how impressed he is with the young player.
Jakub, who is 6’4″, wowed everyone at the Miami Masters by beating Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(4) to claim his first-ever ATP title. It’s remarkable because he almost didn’t play in this tournament at all due to a knee issue! Now, Jakub is only the second-youngest champion in Miami’s history, after another young star, Carlos Alcaraz.
Just two years ago, Jakub was ranked nearly 400th in the world, but he has climbed to a new high of No. 24! Last year, he came through the qualifiers, and now he’s already taken home a major trophy. He made headlines last year by beating well-known players like Denis Shapovalov and Andy Murray.
His connection with Djokovic goes back years. They’ve trained together, and Djokovic recognized Jakub’s talent early on, saying, “I could see he’s going to be one of the top players in the world.” Jakub’s powerful serve (he hit 111 aces in Miami!) and strong backhand are his best strengths, and his forehand and court skills have improved too.
In Miami, Jakub was determined to win. “I was there to enjoy before, but now I have a winning mentality. I want to win!” he said confidently. After his victory, he wrote “#1st of many” on the camera. Jakub is eager to keep winning more trophies, just like he watched Djokovic do when growing up.
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