2 days Ago By Joshua Jones
NOVAK DJOKOVIC was denied his 100th career title - by a teenager who only played because the referee was at lunch. Djokovic, 37, hoped to join Roger Federer (103) and American great Jimmy Connors (109) as the only men to hit a century of trophies. 6 Novak Djokovic missed out on his 100th career title Credit: Rex 6 Jakub Mensik won 7-6 7-6 to land his maiden trophy at the Miami Open Credit: EPA He also aimed to become the oldest man to win a Masters title in tennis history when he faced youngster Jakub Mensik in the Miami Open But a laboured Djokovic went down 7-6 7-6 to the Czech 19-year-old inside the Hard Rock Stadium.
It was Mensik's maiden ATP Tour title - becoming the first player in 24 years to win their first title at a Masters event - and saw him leap from world No54 to No24 in the rankings. Incredibly, though, he almost pulled out of the tournament BEFORE playing his first match against Roberto Bautista Agut in round one. READ MORE ON TENNIS 'What happened to his eye?' Fans concerned about Djokovic's swollen face before Miami final After collecting his trophy by beating his childhood hero, Mensik explained: “Big special thanks to one of the ATP physios, Alejandro.
"One hour before my first match here I was holding the paper to pull out from the tournament because my knee was hurting a lot. “I was just lucky that the referee was having lunch. "Then for the last time I came for the treatment.
He did a miracle. Most read in Tennis VI-PEED OFF Moment tennis fans get kicked out of VIP seats after being confronted by star GRAND SCAM Greedy touts flogging Andy Murray tour tickets for 18 TIMES the value BURNING UP Scots hit with SUNBURN warning as temps to soar to 18C amid a hot start to April NOT DJOK-ING Novak Djokovic reveals telling off from Messi's son after beating Dimitrov CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS "Because of him I stepped on the court. Because of him I’m standing here.
“When I was young I started to play tennis because of you. Tennis fans concerned for Novak Djokovic after seeing swollen face before Miami Open final “There is no harder task in tennis than to beat him in the finals. 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.
” Unseeded Mensik beat Jack Draper in round two before coming through the 96-player draw to face Djokovic in the final, which was delayed by storms in Florida. The Serb 24-time Grand Slam champion was spotted with a swollen eye during practice in Miami before stepping on court. He administered himself eye drops before and during the match but looked depleted of energy as he missed out on securing his first tournament victory since the Olympics.
Tennis stars’ new careers PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring. But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best.
.. I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I quit to become a nun I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so now run luxury B&B I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to become high-flying lawyer I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up bistro with Brazilian model girlfriend I’m last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I’m singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts I'm former world No1 but quit aged 29 - instead I went on to play professional poker and golf I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist But he showed his class with a magnanimous runner-up speech.
Djokovic - who was warned by Lionel Messi's son he needed a ten out of ten performance - said: "Congratulations. Unbelievable tournament. First of many.
"It hurts me to admit it but you were better. In the clutch moments you delivered the goods. "Unbelievable serving.
Just a phenomenal effort mentally to stay in the difficult moments. Read more on the Scottish Sun FAMILY FIRST Lorraine Kelly breaks silence on ‘upsetting’ truth behind cutting TV hours BUG OFF I'm a camping expert- my 6p trick beats midges and you'll have it in the kitchen "For a young player like yourself this is a great feature. Something you’ll use many times in the years to follow.
"I wish you the best of luck. Maybe you’ll let me win one of the next times we play." 6 Mensik revealed he tried to quit the tournament before his first match Credit: Getty 6 Djokovic showed his class after the final Credit: EPA 6 Djokovic looked fatigued throughout and struggled Credit: Getty 6.
