Will probably be the largest age hole in Masters 1000 last historical past–which dates again to the format’s inception in 1990–when Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik battle for the Miami Open title on Sunday afternoon. Djokovic is 37; Mensik is nineteen. Eighteen years and 102 days is the precise distinction.
It has been 169 days since Djokovic and Mensik first went head-to-head on the 2024 Shanghai Masters, the place the Serb prevailed 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 within the quarterfinals. That is probably not a very long time, however Mensik insists that he’s now a a lot better participant.
“(I’m a) different player,” the Czech stated throughout his post-match press convention after upsetting Taylor Fritz in a third-set tiebreaker on Friday. “In Shanghai I used to be sort of nervous. I’m not saying that [I won’t be] on Sunday, additionally. However, yeah, I used to be simply nervous. I used to be not capable of maintain (the) nerves very nicely within the match. I believe [in the last] few months I simply grew up just a little mentally.
“Of course, playing right now I feel that the conditions and everything here suits me very well. I feel really comfortable on the court. So I’m going there on Sunday to win. No doubt on that. In Shanghai I was more (there to) enjoy and to take the experiences. Right now I’m here to win.”
