Mensik Stuns Fritz in Miami and Reaches His First Masters 1000 Final

Adrien Guyot

le 29/03/2025 à 07h10

2 min to read

Fritz Mensik Miami

After Novak Djokovic's qualification at the expense of Grigor Dimitrov, the second semifinal of the Miami Masters 1000 pitted Jakub Mensik against Taylor Fritz. In their only previous encounter at the 2023 US Open, Fritz had conceded just three games. The world No. 4 was the favorite in this home match against the young Czech, who was aiming for his first final in this tournament category.

Overall, the match favored the servers. Neither player managed to earn a break point in the first set, so a tiebreak was the logical decider.

In the end, it was Mensik—who became the first player born in 2005 to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000—who proved more solid, clinching the set 7-4 on his first set point.

Opportunities were scarce in this match, and Fritz knew it. Right from the first game of the second set, he reset the momentum by breaking his opponent. Far more solid than at the start of the match (9 winners and 9 unforced errors in the second set), last year’s US Open and ATP Finals finalist leveled the score and forced a third and final set.

Much like the first set, both men were strong on serve. The Czech earned his first two break points but failed to convert them. Still, he ultimately had the final say in a nail-biting finish (7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in 2h25) on his first match point.

Without securing a single break, the 19-year-old Mensik triumphed thanks to an outstanding serve (25 aces, 40 winners, 82% of points won behind his first serve).

Mensik advances to his very first Masters 1000 final and will face Novak Djokovic in a bid to claim the first title of his career. This will be his second ATP final, following his loss to Karen Khachanov in Doha in 2024.

Now, only the Czech stands between Djokovic and his 100th career title in a Sunday night showdown that pits experience against youth. With this achievement, Mensik also becomes the first Czech player since Berdych in Monte-Carlo 2015 to reach this stage of a Masters 1000 tournament.