Jakub Mensik prevents Djokovic from his 100th title, wins Miami Open for first ATP trophy

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Novak Djokovic faced a series of obstacles Sunday in the Miami Open final: a delay of more than 5 1/2 hours before the match, an eye infection and a slippery court due to high levels of humidity following the rain.

But the largest roadblock was the youth and power of 6-foot-4, 19-year-old phenom Jakub Mensik, who outdueled the 37-year-old Serbian 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) to win his first ATP title.

Ranked 54th entering the tournament, the Czech Republic teenager plowed through Djokovic with poise and a stellar 130 mph serve. He collected 14 aces and got broken only once. Mensik bashed a service winner on match point and fell on his back.

"You’re the one I idolized when I was young," Mensik said to Djokovic during the ceremony after the match that lasted 2 hours, 3 minutes. “I started playing tennis because of you."

Mensik’s victory spoiled the party for Djokovic, who was seeking his 100th career title and a record seventh in the Miami Open. Djokovic will have to wait, while the teenager looks ready to join the elite.

“This is a joyous moment for him and his family — an unbelievable tournament, first of many," Djokovic said. “It hurts me to admit it, you were better. In the clutch moments you delivered the goods. For a young player like yourself, this is a great feature."

The crowd pulled hard for Djokovic, who hadn’t played here since 2019. More than three-quarters of the fans stuck around despite the massive delay, chanting “No-vak!" and singing his name across critical parts of the match.

Djokovic, far from a fan favorite here earlier in his career, saluted the fans, saying it was one of the warmest crowds he’s had ever.

But the men’s leader with 24 Grand Slam titles seemed compromised by his eye issue, with redness seen under the eyelid. Djokovic applied eyedrops during two changeovers in the first set. It was unclear if it affected his vision.

Afterward, Djokovic said he “really prefers not to talk about" his eye, but said “I didn’t feel my greatest on the court."

Djokovic called it “a weird day."

“It’s the same for both players," he added. “You have to accept the circumstances. I tried to make the most out of what I had or was facing but, yeah, it was quite different from any other day of the tournament for me."

During the set, he also slipped twice on the court. The humidity reached 90% after hours of rain disrupted the card. Sweating profusely, Djokovic asked the umpire for a bucket of sawdust to sprinkle on his wet grip.

Mensik had lost to Djokovic in a three-setter last October at the Shanghai Masters but the youngster said before the match he had played too nervously.

Mensik was playing his first ATP 1000 final. He was not quite 2 years old when Djokovic won his first Miami Open title in 2007.

Djokovic knew Mensik’s potential after inviting him to his camp in Belgrade to train when the prodigy was 16.

“He has the complete game. His serve is incredible, powerful, precise,” Djokovic said.

There was more fearlessness this time than in Shanghai. Mensik got up 3-0 with an early break but Djokovic broke back at 4-3, then held for 4-4 after fans chanted his name.

Mensik held for a 6-5 lead in a game that saw Djokovic take a tumble in the doubles alley chasing a drop shot. Mensik served it out with his seventh ace.

In the first-set tiebreak, Mensik charged ahead 5-0. Mensik executed a leaping backhand volley winner and Djokovic muffed a routine forehand drop shot into the net to fall behind 5-0. On set point, Mensik slugged an overhead smash for a winner.

The match was scheduled for 3 p.m. but the players didn’t take the court until 8:37 p.m. due to rain and organizers deciding on completing the women’s doubles final.

The South Florida rain began at 12:50 p.m. during the women’s doubles final pitting Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider against Cristina Bucsa and Miyu Kato, with Andreeva and Shnaider leading 3-0 in the first set.

The women’s players returned to the court at 5:30 p.m. after the rain stopped and the courts were readied by court-drying machinery. But rain began minutes later before warmups and the umbrella-toting players left the court again.

The women returned to the court an hour later and resumed play at 6:50 p.m. Andreeva and Schnaider went the distance, prevailing in a third-set match tiebreaker 6-3, 6-7 (5), 10-2.

This story has corrected the spelling to Mensik. A previous version said Mensuk.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, plays a shot against Jakub Mensik, of Czech Republic, in the men's singles final match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Jakub Mensik, of Czech Repbulic, plays a shot to Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, in the men's singles final match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Jakub Mensik, of Czech Repbulic, plays a shot against Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, in the men's singles final match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, lies on the court after slipping and falling, as he plays Jakub Mensik, of Czech Repbulic, in the men's singles final match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, slips and falls as he plays Jakub Mensik, of Czech Repbulic, in the men's singles final match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Diana Shnaider, left, and Mirra Andreeva pose with the Butch Buchholz Championship Trophy after defeating Cristina Bucsa, of Spain, and Miyu Kato, of Japan, in the women's doubles final match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Fans watch the women's doubles final match between Cristina Bucsa, of Spain, and Miyu Kato, of Japan, top, and Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva, at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

People walk outside Hard Rock Stadium in front of a rainbow, as rain breaks after delaying play by many hours, at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

People ride an escalator into Hard Rock Stadium in front of a rainbow, as rain breaks after delaying play by many hours, at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A crew dries the court after a break in rain that had delayed play by several hours, at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party. Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right.

Reform, which only has a handful of lawmakers in the House of Commons, is tipped to make a major breakthrough in an array of elections this May, including those to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, at the expense of both the Conservatives and Labour.

Jenrick, who continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform to unite the right in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose favorability ratings have fallen sharply since the general election following a series of missteps, questioned why it took Badenoch “so long” to sack Jenrick given all the speculation that he was looking to either challenge her or to defect to Reform.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks, particularly during her weekly questioning of Starmer, in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the modern party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Robert Jenrick speaking at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Robert Jenrick with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)