Mar 30, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Jakub Mensik (CZE) waves to the crowd after his match against Novak Djokovic (SRB)(not pictured) in the men's singles championship of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.

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Miami Open 2025 Champion Jakub Mensik Reveals He ‘Almost’ Pulled Out But a Miracle Saved Him

The teenager was struggling with an injury pre-tournament.

2025 ATP Miami Masters champion Jakub Mensik revealed that he was on the verge of withdrawing prior to the tournament. After winning a historic final, the Czech prodigy made an incredible revelation in his post-match interview on Stadium Court. It was truly a Super Sunday for Mensik, as he beat Novak Djokovic 7-6(4) 7-6(4) to win his first Masters-1000 title.

By winning the Miami crown, Mensik became just the fourth player to claim a Masters-1000 trophy as his maiden title on tour. He is also the second youngest champion in the Florida-based competition, only behind Carlos Alcaraz. The 2025 final happens to be the largest age gap at a Masters event between the two finalists – Djokovic and Mensik are 18 years apart.

With Novak Djokovic gunning for a 41st Masters-1000 trophy and 100th tour-level title, the teenager played spoilsport on the night. Having looked up to the Serb throughout his life, he thanked the legend for his contributions towards the sport after the match. But that wasn’t the only revelation during the trophy presentation.

Jakub Mensik Was on the Brink of Miami Open 2025 Withdrawal

Moments before he posed with the shining trophy, Jakub Mensik stood in front of the Miami crowd with a story. To everyone’s surprise, Czechia’s latest headliner revealed that he was all set to throw in the towel before the tournament began. “One hour before my first match here, I was holding the paper of pulling out from the tournament,” he expressed. “My knee was hurting a lot. I was just lucky that the referee was having lunch.”

For the lack of a better option, the 19-year-old decided to get treated by Alejandro, an ATP physio, and hope for the best. “He did a miracle,” Mensik debriefed as Alejandro smiled from the stands. “Because of him I step on the court, and because of him I’m standing here.” As the saying goes – when you’re destined for greatness, nothing can stop you.

Czech Superstar Mensik Climbs Miami Peak the Hard Way

Jakub Mensik started his 2025 Miami Open campaign with a tricky encounter against Roberto Bautista Agut. Despite hitting 23 aces, courtesy his biggest weapon which is his serve, Jakub had to scrape through in three sets. Perhaps the turning point in his tournament came in Round-2, when he dumped Indian Wells champion Jack Draper out of the competition in two tiebreak sets.

The Student Becomes The Master(s) Champion 🏆

The moment @mensik_jakub_ completed his 7-6 7-6 victory over Novak Djokovic! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/GDqFHrvsPB
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 31, 2025

As the matches went on, Mensik’s stroke-making ability only got better. As he stated himself, the prodigious talent was miraculously moving much better and his groundstrokes possessed pinpoint accuracy. After outfoxing two powerhouses in the form of Arthur Fils and Taylor Fritz, he entered his second ever final. His 7-6 7-6 win against an underwhelming Djokovic earned him his maiden success on the circuit.

Perhaps miracles do exist after all. The ATP’s new World No. 24 will head into the clay court season with newfound confidence and energy. As he penned down himself, this is possibly the “first of many.”

ATP

ATP Masters 1000

Jakub Mensik

Miami Open

Miami Open Final

Novak Djokovic

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.