Jakub Mensik, a name quickly rising in the tennis world, set ambitious goals for 2025 back in February. The 19-year-old Czech expressed his desire to test his mettle against top players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to gauge his level, while also aiming for a year-end ranking within the ATP top 30. While a clash with Sinner or Alcaraz is yet to materialize, Mensik recently proved his capabilities by defeating the legendary Novak Djokovic in the Miami Open final. He dubbed it as “#1st of many.” This incredible victory propelled him a remarkable 30 spots up the PIF ATP Rankings, reaching a new career-high of world number 24. His rapid ascent hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, sparked fan discussion about the teenager’s impressive trajectory.
Previously, during the 2024 AO, Gilbert was spotted dropping praise on this youngster, saying, “Mensik is a baller.” Even after his recent straight sets victory over Djokovic in the final, the renowned tennis coach hailed his brilliance by saying, “standing ovation for Mansik, came into @MiamiOpen with 8-6 record on the year, the 19-year-old gets his 1st @atptour taking out Djoker Holy Toledo.”
With this incredible victory against his tennis “idol“, Jakub Mensik has not only taken his win-loss record to 14-6 in 2025 but also become the second youngest titlist in this tournament. He is now also the first player from the Czech Republic to win the ATP Masters 1000 event since Tomas Berdych’s heroics in 2005. Moreover, Mensik has now become the fourth player in the ATP Tour History to win their maiden singles title at a Masters 1000 event.
After seeing Mesnik achieving all these milestones in such a short span, Brad Gilbert recently came up with a tweet asking the fans, “what you think on nickname Jakub’s ladder or Mensik at work.”
Interesting fact: Jacub Mensik is nicknamed Menimal.
Gratulace!!!
1st of many as you said:)
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) March 31, 2025
This gives us a clear indication that he has no signs of stopping any sooner, and speaking more about his upcoming missions, he said, “I know that this is not the end and I know that this is just the beginning for me. I’m still 19 years old, so I have all of my career in front of me. It feels really great to have this next to me, but it’s not just about the one title, one tournament, I’m hungry for more. Right now I will celebrate, rest. When I come back home, I go back to work and try to get better and better, because still there is a lot of space for improvement in my game, so I will, me and my team, will do my best to lift these trophies more often.”
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is someone who never likes losing. If he had won this match, he could’ve ended his long-awaited dream to clinch 100 ATP titles, but Mensik had other plans. However, despite failing to accomplish his mission in Miami, the Serb was spotted showcasing his love and admiration for the teenager after this match. Djokovic even admitted that Mensik is one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to.”
His kind words towards the rising star have now drawn praise from the tennis legend, Martina Navratilova. What did she say about Djokovic, though?
Martina Navratilova gets impressed with Novak Djokovic’s kind words on Jakub Mensik
Novak Djokovic was the overwhelming favorite in this epic final as he was playing in his 60th ATP Masters 1000 final, while this was a debut appearance for the Czech. The Serb had won 40 of those 60 matches, and he was just one step away from joining the likes of Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) as the only men in the Open Era with 100 or more career titles. No doubt, the disappointment of coming so close must have been there. But it didn’t stop him from ensuring the 19-year-old became the focus instead.
In his post-match interview, the Serb said, “I don’t want to talk too much. his is Jakub’s moment and a moment for his team and family. Congratulations. Unbelievable tournament. First of many. It hurts me to admit it but you were better. In the clutch moments, you delivered the goods.” He further added, “Unbelievable serving. Just a phenomenal effort mentally to stay in the difficult moments. For a young player like yourself this is a great feature.“
Martina Navratilova had earlier reshared Jakub Mensik’s tweet, highlighting his historic moment with a caption, “Gratulace!!! 1st of many as you said:).” Now, after seeing Djokovic’s comment, she couldn’t resist lavishing praise on the Serbian. She put up a tweet saying, “World-class comments from Novak to Mensik after losing to him – from the biggest champion to the new champion.“
Jakub Mensik’s rapid rise has now made him the talk of the town in the tennis world. How many more titles do you think this youngster can win in this season?
The post Jakub Mensik’s Unstoppable Success Prompts Coco Gauff’s Former Coach to Curveball a Cheeky Tweet appeared first on EssentiallySports.