"It's going to depend on that": Taylor Fritz sees Jakub Mensik having chance against Novak Djokovic under one condition

America’s Taylor Fritz believes that the Czech Republic’s young tennis star, Jakub Mensik, will have a serious opportunity to beat Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final of the Miami Open. The 19-year-old arguably registered the biggest win of his career as he defeated the 2024 US Open runner-up in the last-four clash with a score of 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.

With that win, the youngster set up the final against the former world number one Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, who cemented his spot in the last two after beating Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinal in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3.

Fritz, who came into the last-four contest as firm favourite but ended on the losing night, was quoted in a report by ATP’s official website where he predicted that Mensik will have a real opportunity to claim his first-ever ATP 1000 title when he will take the court on Sunday against arguably the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category. Fritz also stated that a lot will depend on the ‘conditions’.

"If the conditions are fast enough and he's serving well enough, he's always going to be in the match," said Fritz about Mensik’s chances in the final. "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."

Talking after the match, Mensik stated that it feels ‘incredible’ to cement a spot in the final of the mega-event and facing a legendary player like Djokovic. “It feels incredible,” he said. “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.”

It will be only the second meeting between the two players in professional tennis. In the only previous meeting, which was in the quarterfinal of the Shanghai Masters last year, it was Djokovic who came out on top with a score of 6-7, 6-1, 6-4.