WATCH: Jakub Mensik's parents tightly hug their son courtside in emotional moment after his Miami Open glory

TENNIS: MAR 30 Miami Open - Source: Getty — Mensik Jakub at the TENNIS: MAR 30 Miami Open - (Source: Getty)

Czech player Jakub Mensik embraced his family in a heartfelt moment after defeating Novak Djokovic in the Miami Open finals. Jakub claimed his first career ATP Tour title, denying the 24-time Grand Slam winner his 100th title.

Jakub Mensik entered the tournament as the 54th-ranked player, ousting Jack Draper, Roman Safiullin, Arthur Fils, and Taylor Fritz to reach the finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami Gardens, Florida. He was scheduled against the six-time Miami Open champion, Djokovic, who was also bidding for a 100th title in the Open Era.

The 19-year-old defeated the former World No. 1 in two sets 7-6(4), 7-6(4), becoming the second-youngest player to lift the title in the tournament's history after Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in 2022. After achieving the monumental victory over his childhood idol, Jakub walked to his parents to share a heartfelt moment, as seen in Miami Open's official X post.

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Expressing how the win felt to him, Mensik said:

"To be honest I don't know what to say. It feels incredible, obviously. 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." (via on-court interview)

Mensik started his 2025 campaign with a third-round exit at the Australian Open, his second appearance at this Major.

Jakub Mensik hailed Novak Djokovic in the medal ceremony of the 2025 Miami Open

Djokovic and Mensik at the Miami Open 2025 - (Source: Getty)

Jakub Mensik, who made it to the finals of the 2022 Junior Australian Open, idolized the reigning Olympic gold medalist Novak Djokovic in his younger years. He was invited by the Serb to train with him after the 2022 Junior Australian Open feat.

Cut to 2025: the intergenerational athletes battled it out in the Miami Open finals, and the budding Mensik clinched the win. During the trophy ceremony, the Czech paid respect to Djokovic, saying:

"When I was young I started to play tennis because of you. There is no harder task for a tennis player than to beat you in the finals of a tournament.”

The 37-year-old said:

“It hurts me to admit it but you were better. In the clutch moments, you delivered the goods.”

Jakub Mensik achieved World No. 24 in the ATP rankings on March 31, 2025. He peaked at 386 in the doubles ranking.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Mitali