The tennis great was the overwhelming favourite ahead of the encounter as he was playing in his 60th ATP Masters 1000 final while it was a debut appearance for Mensik. Djokovic was victorious in 40 of those 60 finals and he was gunning for his 100th ATP Tour singles trophy while his teenage rival was in search of a maiden top-level title. Rain caused havoc in Miami and the showpiece match was delayed for six hours, but once they got going Mensik was just too strong during the tie-breakers as he won 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4). "It's unfortunate for me. Two tie-breaks, just very weird match, weird day with rain delay and all the things that is happening," Djokovic said. "Honestly, yeah, I didn't feel my greatest on the court, but it is what it is. Nothing to take away from his victory." But other than the "weird" comment, Djokovic spent most of the press conference praising rising star Mensik as he explained that he knew the talented teen would become a "top player" when they trained at his academy in Serbia. The Czech started the tournament at No 54 in the ATP Rankings, but he is now on the cusp of making his top 20 breakthrough as he sits at a new career-high of 24. "Never really happy to lose, but he's one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to, to be honest," the 24-time Grand Slam winner said. "I have seen him play when he was 15 or 16 and invited him, we had some training blocks together. He was training at my club in Belgrade, and, you know, to see his development and evolution is really great, amazing. "I could see back then already that three, four years ago that he's going to be, you know, one of the top players of the world. I'm super glad that he's using the potential that he has, because he's got the complete game. Obviously his serve is incredible, powerful, precise, wins a lot of free points with the first serve. "Backhand, as well, you know. Czech school, they always have a great backhand (smiling). But forehand, he's improved a lot. And movement for a tall, big guy like that, he slides and moves well. "He still can improve, of course. So I'm sure we'll be seeing him around." Djokovic spotted Mensik's potential in the 2022 Australian Open Boys' singles final when he lost against Bruno Kuzuhara. After a couple of phone calls, the Czech agreed to attend a training camp in Belgrade. "I loved the fighting spirit, you know, when he was down in that finals I saw in Australia, and obviously big game," he explained. "Seemed like a nice guy, Eastern European. I gave a call through management, my management, his management, and we found, yeah, a connection. He accepted to come. "We had, like, three training blocks together. And actually, his physio who is with him now was my physio, Serbian guy. There are a lot of connecting things that we have in common. So as I said, you know, big game, big potential. I'm sure that he's got a bright future."

The Spaniard has done it all, winning 22 Grand Slams - 14 times at Roland Garros - achieving world No 1 status, and lifting countless Masters 1000 titles. However, Nadal has - somewhat inevitably - also had many heartbreaking losses. "I believe that if I could play a game again, maybe it would be the 2014 Australian [Open] final, to see if I don't get hurt," said Nadal, speaking in a Q&A session on his new TikTok account. In that 2014 final, the former world No 1 lost 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 to Stan Wawrinka – who collected his first Grand Slam title. However, whilst it may seem like a 'typical' final loss, Nadal tweaked his back during the pre-match warmup. The discomfort quickly became evident, especially within his serve and movement, and would have been a major blow to the Spaniard. Heading into that match, Nadal had won all 12 matches and 26 sets contested against the Swiss. Additionally, he had won two of the last three Grand Slams – winning 26 consecutive hard-court matches from March to October 2013. "I did not want to retire," stated the 22-time Grand Slam champion after the loss. "It was not an easy situation for me. I tried hard. I tried to finish the match as good as I can, for the crowd, for the opponent, for me. "But it was impossible to win this way. I have talked enough about the back. That's life. I've had a lot of great moments in my career, and that was a tough one. That is part of life, part of sport. It is not the end of the world." Nadal, in his usual humble style, stated: "A lot of people in this world have lots of very tough days. I'm not that kind of person. I feel very lucky to be able to work at something I love to do. "It is tough tonight, and in a few weeks that's going to pass. I'm going to keep working, training hard. I'm going to keep enjoying this world of tennis. "But this is Stan's day, not my day. It is very tough to stop him when he's playing that way. He's playing better and better, with amazing confidence, hitting every ball very, very hard, moving great." The Australian Open has been the site of numerous tough losses for Nadal, the most prominent of which was the record-breaking 2012 final against Novak Djokovic. That match is the longest Grand Slam final at five hours and fifty-three minutes, with the scoreline ultimately being 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 in Djokovic's favour. The Spaniard had lost his last two Grand Slam finals against the Serb and missed a routine backhand wide whilst leading 4-2, 30-15 in the fifth set – ultimately being broken back as a result. "I'm not frustrated: I competed to the maximum," said Nadal about the match, in a 2024 interview. "I am satisfied. I have given the most I had. I have played well. I have fought until the end. I lost. The other one beat me. "This is sport: if you dedicate yourself to this, you either win or you lose." Another 'regretful' match is likely his 2007 Wimbledon match against Roger Federer. Heading into the showpiece match, the pair had won the last nine Grand Slam events - with Federer having also won the last four Wimbledon titles. By 2007, it was clear to see that Nadal's grass-court game had improved vastly and was as equal to the Swiss' as any other opponent. After 3 hours and 45 minutes, Federer's domination continued with a 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-2 victory over his young rival. Similarly to his final against Djokovic in Melbourne, Nadal had multiple chances to gain a crucial lead in the fifth set – unable to take the opportunities at 2-2 on Federer's serve.

The unheralded Mensik became the latest player to hold off Djokovic's 100th ATP Tour singles title celebrations after he upset the tennis great in the Miami Open final. And the Czech youngster has revealed that he nearly didn't compete at the ATP Masters 1000 event as he was struggling with an injury. The unseeded Mensik stunned 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic 7-6(7-4), 7-6(7-4) in the Florida final to win not only his maiden Masters title, but also lift his first ATP singles trophy. It was a magical run from the 19-year-old, but he came close to withdrawing from the tournament due to a knee injury. During the post-match presentation ceremony, he 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. Because of him I stepped on the court. Because of him I'm standing here." Mensik ended up beating Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round, sixth seed and Indian Wells Open champion Jack Draper in the second round and Roman Safiullin in the third round. He then had a walkover in the fourth round when compatriot Tomas Machac withdrew before getting the better of 17th seed Arthur Fils in the quarter-final. The Czech then upset fourth seed Taylor Fritz to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final. But the best was yet to come as he denied all-time great Djokovic – who has been stuck on 99 ATP titles since he won the 2024 Paris Olympics singles final against Carlos Alcaraz – in the Miami Open showpiece match. With the win, world no 54 Mensik became only the second player outside the top 50 in the ATP Rankings to beat Djokovic in a final with Stan Wawrinka the only other player to achieve the milestone. The then-ranked world No 69 Wawrinka defeated the Serbian in the Umag final back in 2006. But Mensik – who has surged to a career-high No 24 in the ATP Rankings after his feat – was full of praise for the man he idolised when growing up, stating: "When I was young I started to play tennis because of you. "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." Mensik is also only the fourth player in ATP Tour history to win their maiden singles trophy at a Masters 1000 event. The first was Roberto Carretero when he won the final in Hamburg in 1996 and the following hear Chris Woodruff won in Montreal. Alberto Portas joined the list in 2001 when he also won in Hamburg before Mensik made it a four-man club with his win over Djokovic in Miami.

Teenager Jakob Mensik denies his childhood idol Novak Djokovic a 100th ATP singles title with a superb performance to clinch the Miami Open title.

World No. 1 Sabalenka was beaten by Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January and was runner-up once again after a shock defeat against teenager Mirra Andreeva at Indian Wells two weeks ago. Now she finally has got her hands on the silverware - or glassware to be more accurate at the Miami Open - with an explosive performance getting her over the winning line with a 7-5, 6-2 win against Jessica Pegula. "I'm speechless," Sabalenka told Sky Sports. "The last couple of finals were really tough and tight and close ones for me so going into this one I was so focused on myself. "I was playing point by point and now it feels super special. I'm super happy with the title. First one in Miami. "It was back and forth the whole match. I was fighting no matter what and, even after each game she broke, I was fighting back and breaking her back. "We are working a lot on the variety of my game and against her, it is important to mix the heights of the ball. I'm happy it worked and I'm happy with the title." When asked what plans she had to celebrate her first win in Miami, Sabalenka had a swift answer as she said: "Definitely tequila!" Sabalenka got off to a flying start against Pegula as she broke early in the first set, but Pegula found a way to strike back to take a lead in the set. An unpredictable match swung back in Sabalenka's favour, as a player who has beaten her in six of their eight meetings continued to threaten Pegula's serve and she finally broke through to take the first set. The breaks of serve continued on both sides of the net in the second set, but Sabalenka's power hitting got her over the winning line. The victory secured Sabalenka prize money of $1,124,380, with that windfall taking her up to ninth in the all-time list of prize money winners in women's tennis, leaping above Angelique Kerber. Sabalenka is now just behind her great rival Iga Swiatek in the all-time prize money chart with $33,643,560. Sabalenka and Swiatek are still a long way from competing with the all-time prize money queen in the women's game, with Serena Williams in a league of her own as she has $94,816,730 in career prize money from her remarkable career. This latest WTA 100 win also ensured Sabalenka's lead at the top of the WTA Rankings has increased to over 3,000 points. She will have 10,541 ranking points when the WTA list is updated on Monday, with Swiatek in second place on 7,470 and Coco Gauff in third on 6,063.

The rising Czech star defeated world No 4 Fritz 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4) in a pulsating two-hour-and-24-minute semi-final at the Hard Rock Stadium. In a serve-dominated contest, Fritz secured the only break of the match in the second set while Mensik won the first and third set tiebreaks that proved pivotal. Mensik landed 72% of his first serves and blasted 25 aces as he won 82% of points behind his first delivery and 54% on his second serve. The 19-year-old, who is seeking his maiden title, is through to his second career final and first at ATP Masters 1000 level. Mensik is just the fifth teenager in the last 20 years to reach the Miami Open men's singles final — and he could not be in better company on the list. Since 2005, Rafael Nadal (2005), Novak Djokovic (2007), Jannik Sinner (2021) and Carlos Alcaraz (2022) are the only other men to feature in a Miami title match before turning 20. Mensik will now face 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who he has named as his biggest idol, in Sunday's final. The duo previously met in Shanghai last year, with the Serbian triumphing in three sets. On facing Djokovic for second time, Mensik said: "I'm actually a different player (compared to the match in Shanghai). "I was kind of nervous. I'm not saying that I would not be on Sunday. I was not able to hold my nerves very well in the match. I've just grown up a little mentally. "Playing right now, I feel that the conditions and everything here suits me very well. I feel really comfortable on the court. So, I'm going there on Sunday to win. No doubt on that."

Following a theme of his impressive return to form in Miami, Djokovic made a stunning 87 per-cent of his first serves and won 79 per-cent of those points as he didn't allow Dimitrov a look in on his service games as he missed just six first serves in the match. Djokovic's stunning form in Miami means he will compete for his 100th career ATP title in Sunday's final and he also set another couple of records with this latest victory. "It feels great to get to the final without dropping a set," Djokovic said. "I probably feel as good as I have felt since the Olympics last year. "I thought I wouldn't beat the percentage of first serves in from the last match, but I did it. It was 83 per-cent in the last match and 87 per-cent today. Now I know how it feels to be like John Isner! And [Ivo] Karlovic and [Reilly] Opelka. It certainly makes life a lot easier on the court. "I found some really good serves with new balls in the last game and it was really tricky conditions today. The wind was not consistent and it was changing a lot. So it was not easy to find control." When asked about the prospect of his 100th career title in the Miami final, he added: "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." Lionel Messi was among those watching this remarkably polished performance just a few weeks before he celebrates his 38th birthday, with the great Argentine soccer legend one of the few athletes who could be compared to Djokovic among the list of iconic athletes over the last two decades. On the evidence of this masterclass against a jaded Dimitrov, the masterful Djokovic still has so much more to offer and those who dared to write off the most successful male tennis player of all-time are being proved wrong once again by the greatest champion of them all.

Novak Djokovic eases past Grigor Dimitrov to reach his first Miami Open final since 2016 and move within one win of his 100th career ATP title

Pegula accomplished a feat only two tennis icons have bettered as she earned a pulsating win against 19-year-old Filipino Eala to reach the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. In the opening set, Pegula had to battle back from a 2-5 deficit and save a set point before prevailing in a tiebreak. Eala, the world No. 140 who was competing as a wildcard, made a comeback of her own in the second set as she rallied from 1-3 behind to force a decider. Pegula crucially converted the only break point of the third set with Eala serving at 3-4, 30-40 as she progressed to her maiden Miami Open final after two hours and 26 minutes. "I'm so tired, so, so tired," the American said in her on-court interview. "She's really good. She's a really good tennis player, goes for her shots, takes the ball early, competes really well, she's beaten a lot of top players this week - I don't think she needs me to tell her that she's a great player, that we're not going to see enough of her, we definitely are, and she proved that tonight." The 31-year-old is into her sixth WTA 1000 final and third since turning 30 as she seeks her fourth crown at this level of event and eighth singles title overall. Only Serena Williams (16) and Li Na (four) have reached more WTA 1000 finals after their 30th birthday than Pegula since the tournament format was introduced in 2009. Pegula will face world No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final in a rematch of last year's US Open championship match, which the Belarusian won. Sabalenka, who crushed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 in the last four in Miami, leads the head-to-head against Pegula 6-2. Pegula assessed her form heading into her showdown with Sabalenka. "I do feel like I'm serving a little bit better," Pegula said. "Hopefully I can serve well Saturday. I think that's something you have to do against her. She returns really well. "I have been returning well, so I always feel like even though she's one of the best servers in the world, I can give myself a chance maybe to break her. But she's tough. She's playing with a lot of confidence. She likes, I think, a little bit quicker hard court, as well, playing one-two punch, playing an aggressive game. "I had chances at the US Open, up 5-3 in that second set. Who knows what would have happened there. I definitely know I'll get some chances if I play some good tennis hopefully, and I will try to do my best of trying to take advantage of that, and, you know, learning from the last couple of matches."

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The match was not as comfortable as the scoreline may suggest for the veteran Djokovic as he was trailing 5-2 in the second set before hitting back to secure victory in a tie-break. "I am very relieved I won in straight sets," Djokovic told Sky Sports. "I was quite nervous to be honest because you never know what comes from Korda. He's so aggressive, so talented and can play any shot. I was on the back foot and it was a tense match. "This was my best serving performance for me so far. I was quite nervous because you never know what comes from Korda – he's so aggressive and talented. "I was on my back foot, waiting for his error rather than dictating from the back of the court. When I needed a first serve I got it but a tense match and great performance." The records continue to tumble for Djokovic and he beat a landmark set by his old rival Roger Federer as he stormed into the semi-finals of the Miami Open. Every match Djokovic wins seems to set a new record during this phase of his career and this latest win saw him become the oldest player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, surpassing Roger Federer's record. Federer was 37 years and 222 days old when he reached his last ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, also in Miami, back in 2019. Now, Djokovic will play in the last four of the same tournament at the age of 37 years and 295 days. Djokovic now also holds the best combined win rate of any male player at the Indian Wells and Miami Open, with the Serbian boasting an 84.6 per cent win rate from with 99 match wins and just 18 defeats in the prestigious ‘Sunshine Double' events. He will also set another record when he meets Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals, as the combined age of 71 years and 262 days between the veteran duo will add up to the oldest between two opponents in an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since the format was introduced in 1990. The bigger goals this week for Djokovic must be his pursuit of a 100th career title and with top seed Alexandr Zverev and No 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz both out of the tournament, he looks well placed to reach that stunning milestone. It would also edge him closer to the all-time record of tournament wins set by Jimmy Connors, which stands at 109. "It would definitely be amazing to get to that record," said Djokovic of his chase for the most tournament wins in tennis history. "Connors is someone that I truly admire and respect. He's always very supportive of me in public, so I'm very thankful for that. It would be amazing. "It's probably more difficult to achieve that nowadays for me than maybe it was some years ago. I'll go step by step. I'll see. I don't know how long I'm going to compete for. But I'm still enjoying myself when I play well. "My only target now is to play well against Grigor in the semi-finals and then we will see what happens after that." Djokovic's roar at the end of his latest win towards his coach Andy Murray confirmed his fire is burning brightly as he looks to claim his 100th title in one of the biggest tournaments of on the ATP Tour. When this six-time Miami Open champion is in this mood, it is impossible to back against him coming out on top.

Novak Djokovic overcomes American Sebastian Korda in their rescheduled match to reach the semi-finals of the Miami Open.

After her run at the Miami Open, BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller looks at the support Emma Raducanu may need to continue her form.

The 19-year-old extended her historic run at the WTA 1000 event with a stunning 6-2, 7-5 victory against the world No 2 and five-time Grand Slam winner. Eala remarkably broke Swiatek in eight of the Polish great's 10 service games and struck a host of amazing forehand winners down the line in the contest. In her on-court interview, a stunned Eala said: "I don't know what to say. I'm in complete disbelief right now, I'm on cloud nine." When shown a photo of her graduation from the Rafa Nadal Academy less than two years ago, with Swiatek by her side, Eala said: "It's so surreal. "I feel like I'm the exact same person as I was in that photo. But of course, circumstances have changed! I'm so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage. "My coach told me to run, to go for every ball, to take all the opportunities I can, because a five-time Slam champion is not going to give you the win." Eala, who is competing as a wildcard, is the first player from the Philippines to reach a semi-final at tour level. Having entered the tournament as the world No 140, Eala will become the first player in her nation's history to break into the top 100 of the women's or men's rankings. Eala's victory over Swiatek was her third win against a former Grand Slam champion during her run in Miami after she beat Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys. The teenager has not dropped a set en route to the semi-finals, having earned four wins and also received a walkover from Paula Badosa in the last 16. The left-hander will face the winner of the quarter-final matchup between Jessica Pegula and Emma Raducanu in the last four. For Swiatek, the defeat has lengthened her run without winning a title and she has not reached a final since securing her fourth French Open crown in June last year. The 23-year-old Pole has fallen at either the quarter-final or semi-final stage in all five of her WTA tournaments so far this season.