Everything Novak Djokovic said after losing to Jakub Mensik in Miami Open final

Novak Djokovic has revealed why he wanted to mentor Jakub Mensik after his loss to the 19-year-old Czech star in the championship match at the 2025 Miami Open.

The 37-year-old Serbian was beaten 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in a tight final at the Masters 1000 tournament as he missed out on winning a 100th ATP singles title.

Mensik, who was ranked 54th at the start of the tournament, secured his first-ever career title in what was just his second final.

Here is everything Djokovic said in his post-match press conference.

High praise for Mensik and how he felt in “very weird match”

DJOKOVIC: Congratulations to Mensik and his team. Never really happy to lose, but he’s one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to, to be honest. I’ve seen him play when he was 15 or 16, I invited him, we had some training blocks together, he was training at my club in Belgrade and to see his development and evolution is really great, amazing.

I could see back then already that – three four years ago – that he’s going to be one of the top players of the world. So I’m super glad that he’s using the potential that he has because he’s got the complete game. Obviously serve is incredible, powerful, precise and wins a lot of free points with the first serve. Backhand as well, Czech school, they always have a great backhand. But forehand, he’s improved a lot. And movement, for a tall, big guy like that, he slides and moves well. And he still can improve, of course, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing him around.

Yeah, it’s unfortunate for me, two tiebreaks, just very weird match, weird day with rain delay and all the things that are happening. I honestly didn’t feel my greatest on the court, but it is what it is, nothing to take away from his victory.

Did the humidity and his eye problem affect him?

DJOKOVIC: I really prefer not to talk about… there’s quite a few things, but I prefer not to… just congratulate him, that’s it. I don’t wanna sound like I’m gonna getting excuses here for my loss.

What made Djokovic want to mentor Mensik

DJOKOVIC: Well, I mean, I love the fighting spirit when he was down in that final in Australia I saw (the 2022 Australian Open boys’ final). Obviously big game, seemed like a nice guy, Eastern European. So I gave a call through management, my management to his management. We found a connection, he accepted to come and yeah, so we had like three training blocks together. And actually his physio who’s with him now was my physio, Serbian guy, so there’s a lot of connecting things that we have in common. As I said, big game, big potential, I’m sure that he’s got a bright future.

Why Mensik was so good in tiebreaks in Miami

DJOKOVIC: If you have a big serve, and he’s been serving consistently 20 aces a match… I mean, in the tiebreak, each player serves two points and he puts so much pressure. You make one mistake, two and you’re down a mini-break, then he starts serving big and it’s gone, tiebreak is gone basically.

ATP Tour News

9 stellar Jakub Mensik feats and statistics after sensational Miami Open title win

Jakub Mensik’s ‘lucky’ admission as Novak Djokovic is again forced to wait for 100th ATP title

Dealing with the five-and-a-half hour delay, and was his vision on court okay?

DJOKOVIC: As I answered before, I don’t want to get into details, but it is what it is. It’s the same for both players, you have to accept the circumstances. I tried to make the most out of what I had, or what I was facing, but yeah, it was quite different from any other day of the tournament for me.

Standout improvement in Mensik’s game from their match in Shanghai last year

DJOKOVIC: I mean, the serve consistency, I think he was serving even better than he was serving in Shanghai, and there he was serving really well. I think game was similar, but my level was not like it was in Shanghai.

Overall feeling from his return to the Miami Open

DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I mean overall, obviously now bitter taste because of the loss, but Miami, as I said on the court, really brought me a lot of joy and really good sensations on and off the court. I was very welcomed very nicely by people and supported incredible again tonight, great support from the stadium. In the match they were pushing me on and trying to give me strength for a comeback. Very grateful, just enjoyed my experience overall, it was an amazing run. Unfortunately ended with a loss in the finals, but I played some really good tennis up to today.

READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic eye problem sparks a social media storm at Miami Open

Click here to read article