Czech teen drops 25 aces on World No. 4 to set final with hero Djokovic

Jakub Mensik has set a dream ATP Masters 1000 final debut against childhood hero Novak Djokovic after upsetting third seed Taylor Fritz at the Miami Open presented by Itau Friday night.

The Czech teen thundered 25 aces and proved clutch in both tie-breaks to oust the hometown hero 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4).

The 19-year-old, who came into the tournament at No. 54 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is the third-lowest-ranked finalist in tournament history.

“The return was tough today,” Mensik said. “We were serving really great today so he didn’t give me an opportunity to break him. It was just the tie-breaks for me that was the decider. I came to show my best performance in the tie-breaks.”

Fritz twice found himself within two points of defeat on serve at 4-5 and 5-6 but clawed his way into the third-set tie-break, having defended his serve throughout the match. But Mensik, who lost two 25-shot rallies to Fritz at critical moments earlier in the set, won a 27-shot rally on Fritz’s serve to set up two match points in the tie-break, and he only needed one.

Fritz outhit Mensik 25 winners to 15 from the baseline according to Infosys ATP Stats, but the American's 20 unforced forehand errors proved costly. Both players were near untouchable on serve, with Mensik winning 82 per cent of first-serve points, a tick higher than Fritz's 80 per cent.

Mensik, who also took out World No. 7 and Indian Wells champion Jack Draper in the second round, has surged 24 places this week to a career-high No. 30 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He will rocket to No. 24 should he win the title Sunday.

At 19 years and six months, he is the third youngest Miami finalist, behind Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, who were both 18 years and nine months when they reached their first Miami finals.

Looking ahead to playing his idol Djokovic on Sunday, Mensik said, “It feels incredible. For me it was a dream to play against him in Shanghai. For now it’s a bit different. I am a better player now and I’m going to enjoy and it’s going to be really exciting. Let’s see what’s going to happen Sunday.”

Mensik won the first set against Djokovic in their lone Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in Shanghai last year before the 40-time ATP Masters 1000 champion rallied to win 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4.

It All Adds Up

Fritz, after defeat in his first Miami semi-final, closed the first quarter of the 2025 season with a 14-6 record. While he was denied a second ATP Masters 1000 final appearance, after his 2022 Indian Wells title run, he will retain his No. 4 PIF ATP Ranking entering the clay swing.

The American saved the only two break points he faced against Mensik, both in the third set, but was left to rue his performance in the two tie-breaks.

"Between the two tie-breaks, I have to win one of them. I have to play a little bit better," Fritz said. "I think when I'm playing well, when I'm winning matches, it's kind of just what I do. I pull through these situations. So to just kind of get out-toughed in two tie-breaks, it sucks. I did my job. I didn't get broken. I didn't face a break point until the third set, so... it sucks."

Looking ahead to the final, Fritz pegged Djokovic as the favourite but added that the daytime conditions could favour Mensik.

"If the conditions are fast enough and he's serving well enough, he's always going to be in the match," Fritz said of the Czech. "It's going to be tight. He's going to have a solid chance.

"I'm not sure because I couldn't return a serve, that doesn't mean that Novak is not going to be able to return a serve. It's going to depend on that."