Novak Djokovic refused to discuss the evident eye problem he suffered before Sunday’s Miami Open final defeat by unseeded Czech teenager Jakub Mensik, saying he did not want to take away from his opponent’s triumph.
Djokovic’s eye appeared swollen during a practice session before the match and he later called it “a weird day,” adding that he “really prefers not to talk about” his eye.
“I didn’t feel my greatest on the court,” he said.
Mensik, 19, won 7-6, 7-6 to claim his first ATP Masters 1000 title and become the second-youngest Miami champion behind Carlos Alcaraz, who won in 2022 as an 18-year-old.
The defeat leaves Djokovic without a title on tour since the ATP Finals in 2023. His only success in 2024 came at the Olympics.
“There is no harder task in tennis than to beat him in the finals,” said Mensik, who lost his only previous meeting with Djokovic in Shanghai.
“You’re the one I idolised when I was young. I started playing tennis because of you.
“But of course I felt really great and it’s my time, so I just tried to focus on the match like I did before in previous rounds.”
Mensik, who beat world No 4 Taylor Fritz in the semi-final and Indian Wells champion Jack Draper in an earlier round, broke the six-time Miami champion in his opening service game after the match was delayed almost six hours.
Djokovic levelled as he seized on the only break point Mensik faced in the match, but struggled on his return and lost the first five points of the opening set tie-break.
He rallied before going down 7-4 and while he found some rhythm from the back of the court, he could make no inroads against the Mensik serve and the teenager completed victory in another tie-break in the second set.
Djokovic admitted his opponent – 18 years his junior – was better and congratulated him on an “unbelievable tournament”.
“In the clutch moments, you delivered the goods [with] unbelievable serving and just a phenomenal effort mentally as well to stay tough in a difficult moment,” he said.
