37-year old Novak Djokovic moved one step closer to a record-breaking 7th Miami Open presented by Itaú title after seeing off Grigor Dimitrov, 6-2 6-3, in the semi-finals on Friday.
After the Olympics, which was my 99th title, I knew that every tournament I play I am going for 100. I wasn’t able to achieve that – until, hopefully, Sunday. I am going to go all in. I haven’t dropped a set. I’m playing really good tennis, as good as I’ve played in a long time. Novak Djokovic
His opponent in Sunday’s championship match will be 19-year old Czech, Jakub Mensik, who upset World No 7 and Indian Wells champion Jack Draper in the 2nd round, and added another big win to his credit when he edged past hometown favourite, Taylor Fritz, 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(4), in Friday’s night session.
In the oldest semi-final in ATP Masters 1000 series history, since 1990, Djokovic continued his run with an efficient win over the 33-year-old Bulgarian 14th seed, undeterred by the breezy afternoon conditions.
The Serb, currently ranked 5 in the world, made 87% of his first serves, winning 79% of those points, and was flawless from the baseline, committing just 5 unforced errors, 4 of which came off his backhand wing and the other a double-fault.
Djokovic, who has not dropped a set in this tournament, needed just 70 minutes to advance.
“As far as my game goes, again, serve was definitely the highlight of the match,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I think I was 83 percent [first-serves made] last match, and I thought it would probably be difficult to beat that, but today 87 [percent].
“I don’t know what to say, I’ve been serving really well, and hopefully, I can continue in the same fashion because that definitely makes my life easier on the court.”
Rain threatened at the end, with a few drops falling inside the Hard Rock Stadium, but Djokovic finished the job on his 2nd match point, sealing his 11th straight tour-level win against Dimitrov.
Djokovic now leads the Bulgarian 13-1 in their head-to-head record, after Dimitrov, who was a finalist in Miami last year, seemed to be out of answers following his physical quarter-final encounter with Francisco Cerundolo on Wednesday, when he needed assistance from a tournament doctor and ATP physio to leave the court following the 2 hour, 48 minute battle.
Novak Djokovic needed just 70 minutes to dispatch 14th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov on Friday, and reach a record-extending 60th ATP Masters 1000 final
© Al Bello/Getty Images
Into a record-extending 60th ATP Masters 1000 final, Djokovic will take on Jakub Mensik in Sunday’s championship match.
“After the Olympics, which was my 99th title, I knew that every tournament I play I am going for 100,” Djokovic said. “I wasn’t able to achieve that – until, hopefully, Sunday.
“I am going to go all in. I haven’t dropped a set. I’m playing really good tennis, as good as I’ve played in a long time.”
Djokovic is tied at 20 with his great rival Roger Federer for most consecutive seasons appearing in a tour-level final.
The oldest finalist in Masters 1000 history, Djokovic is aiming for his first Miami triumph since winning at Crandon Park in 2016, and, with a win, the former World No 1 will surpass Andre Agassi’s 6 for most Miami titles.
Djokovic won his first of 40 ATP Masters 1000 titles as a 19-year-old in Miami in 2007, when he defeated his current coach Andy Murray, 6-1 6-0, in the semi-finals and Argentine Guillermo Canas in the final.
19-year old Jakub Mensik battled past Taylor Fritz to make his debut Masters final in Miami, where he will meet his idol Novak Djokovic on Sunday
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The second semi-final saw 19-year old Jakub Mensik set up a dream ATP Masters 1000 final debut against Djokovic, his childhood hero, after upsetting 3rd seed Taylor Fritz in 3 extremely tight sets after a 2 hour 25 minute battle of attrition.
The Czech teenager, who arrived in Miami ranked 54, thundered down 25 aces and proved clutch in both tiebreaks to oust the American, becoming the 3rd-lowest-ranked finalist in the tournament’s history.
“The return was tough today,” Mensik said. “We were serving really great today, so he didn’t give me an opportunity to break him.
“It was just the tiebreaks for me that were the decider. I came to show my best performance in the tiebreaks.”
Fritz found himself twice within 2 points of defeat on serve at 4-5 and 5-6, but he clawed his way into the third-set breaker, having defended his serve throughout the match.
Mensik, though, who had lost two 25-shot rallies to Fritz at critical moments earlier in the set, won a 27-shot rally on the American’s serve to set up 2 match points in the tiebreak, but he only needed one.
Fritz outhit Mensik, 25 winners to 15, from the baseline, but the American’s 20 unforced forehand errors proved costly.
Both were nearly untouchable on serve, with Mensik winning 82% of first-serve points, slightly higher than Fritz’s 80%.
It took 2 tiebreak sets to fall Jakub Mensik’s way to defeat Taylor Fritz on Friday in the Miami semi-finals
© Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Mensik has surged 24 places this week to a career-high of 30 in the live rankings and will rocket to No 24 if he can win the title on Sunday.
At 19 years and 6 months, he is the 3rd youngest Miami finalist, behind Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, who were both 18 years and 9 months when they reached their first Miami finals.
“It feels incredible,” Mensik said, looking ahead to playing his idol Djokovic on Sunday. “For me, 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.”
Mensik took the first set off Djokovic in their meeting in Shanghai last year before the 40-time ATP Masters 1000 champion rallied to win, 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4.
Fritz, after his first Miami semi-final defeat, closed the first quarter of the 2025 season with a 14-6 record, and while he was denied a second ATP Masters 1000 final appearance, he will retain his No 4 ranking entering the clay court swing.
The American saved the only 2 break points he faced against Mensik, both in the third set, but was left to rue his performance in the 2 breakers.
“Between the two tiebreaks, I have to win one of them. I have to play a little bit better,” Fritz said. “I think, when I’m playing well, when I’m winning matches, it’s kind of just what I do. I pull through these situations.
“So to just, kind of, get out-toughed in two tiebreaks, it sucks. I did my job. I didn’t get broken. I didn’t face a break point until the third set, so…it sucks.”
Looking ahead to the final, Fritz pegged Djokovic as the favourite, but added that the daytime conditions could favour Mensik.
“If the conditions are fast enough, and he’s serving well enough, he’s always going to be in the match,” Fritz said of the young Czech. “It’s going to be tight. He’s going to have a solid chance.
“I’m not sure, because I couldn’t return a serve, that doesn’t mean that Novak is not going to be able to return a serve. It’s going to depend on that.”
