Jakub Mensik faces Novak Djokovic in the final of the Miami Open after surprisingly crediting Lionel Messi for his semi-final win over home favourite Taylor Fritz. Czech star Mensik came on top in a third-set tiebreaker, firing 25 aces to book a first ATP Masters 1000 final against his hero.
Football great Messi, now of MLS outfit Inter Miami, was one of the famous faces in attendance at the Hard Rock Stadium. TV cameras spotted him throughout the matches and even spent time with 19-year-old Mensik before he took to the court.
And Mensik joked that shaking Messi’s hand and not washing afterwards was the “key” to defeating Fritz. Speaking during his on-court interview, the teenager said: “I shook his hand. I was kind of chilling with him a bit so I didn’t wash my hand before stepping on court. That was the key for today.”
He also wrote a post-match message to the Argentine forward on the camera, penning “Thx Leo” with a heart as the crowd roared following a hard-fought victory over Fritz.
After a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours against the third seed, Mensik described how he felt going into a match against Djokovic, who he battled for the first time in China and went down 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4.
“It feels incredible,” Mensik said about facing Djokovic. “It was a dream to play against him in Shanghai. For now it’s a bit different. I am a better player now and I’m going to enjoy and it’s going to be really exciting. Let’s see what’s going to happen Sunday.”
Meanwhile Djokovic, who needed just 69 minutes to overcome Grigor Dimitrov earlier in the day, feels that he is in the best shape to compete since last summer.
He told Sky Sports: “It feels great. I didn’t think I would beat my percentage of first serves from the past match, but I did and that makes life easier on the court.
“It was tricky out there today, the wind was swirling around and not consistent, but I have not dropped a set in this tournament and I feel as good as I have since the Olympics last year.”
Djokovic was Mensik’s age when the Serb claimed his first Miami Open title in 2007, and on Sunday will attempt to claim his 100th career title in Florida.
He has won six times in Miami already, gunning for a record seventh against Mensik, and also his first with Andy Murray as a coach.
Mensik will be hoping that Messi can spare some more time as a lucky charm if he is to upset the odds and defeat Djokovic.
