ATP Miami Masters: Djokovic beats Dimi to fight Mensik for the title

On March 28, Beijing time, the 2025 ATP Miami Masters men's singles final lineup was produced. The 37-year-old Serbian champion Djokovic will compete with the 19-year-old Czech rookie Mensick for the title, and the two will play the final of the Masters with the largest age difference of 18 years and 102 days!

Djokovic

Djokovic defeated 14th seed and last year's runner-up Dimitrov 6-2, 6-3 in just 70 minutes in the semi-finals, making it 11 straight victories (13-1) against the latter, reaching the final of the Masters for the 60th time in his career, breaking the record he held for the tournament and reaching the final of the tournament without dropping a set.

It was the oldest men's singles semi-final in the history of the ATP Masters (since 1990) (Deyo 37 and Dimi 33), and it attracted Argentine football superstars Lionel Messi and Serena Williams in attendance. The 37-year-old Djokovic put in an impressive performance, scoring 87 per cent of his first serve and 79 per cent of his first serves, and making just five unforced errors in the game.

In his post-match interview, Djokovic said: "Regarding my performance today, the serve was definitely the highlight of the match. My first serve rate in the last match was 83 per cent, I thought it was a stat that would be hard to beat, but today (it was 87 per cent) I don't know what to say, my serve has been at a good level and hopefully I can continue it because it really makes it easier for me on the court. ”

For Djokovic at the moment, every victory could be a big step in history. After a semi-final win over Dimitrov, the Serbian became the oldest Masters finalist and reached the Masters final for 20 consecutive seasons, equalling Federer's previous record (2001-2019).

In the men's singles final, Djokovic will break two major records, and if he wins the Miami Masters, he will celebrate the 100th career tour title and will win his seventh Miami title, surpassing Agassi (6) to become the most won male player in the history of the tournament. Djokovic's last triumph at the Miami Masters was in 2016.

"The Olympics was my 99th title, and after that I knew that every event I competed in was going for 100 titles, and I haven't been able to achieve it, and hopefully I can do it on Sunday," he said. I'm going to give it my all, I haven't dropped a set in this tournament yet, I'm in really good shape, it's my best form in a long time. ”

Mensik

Mensik fought with his local No. 3 seed Fritz for 2 hours and 25 minutes in the men's singles semi-finals, winning 7-6(4)/4-6/7-6(4) to reach the final of the Masters for the first time in his career, becoming the first post-05 man in men's tennis. Mensick, ranked No.54 in the world, is the third-lowest ranked finalist in tournament history and became the first Czech player to reach a Masters final since Berdych in 2015. Djokovic and Mensik have only met once before at last year's Shanghai Masters, when Djokovic came back from behind to win in three sets.

The men's singles title match will start no earlier than 3 p.m. local time on Sunday (3 a.m. Beijing time on Monday). Looking ahead to the final against Novak Djokovic, Mensik said after the match: "It feels fantastic, it's a dream come true to play him in Shanghai, now it feels a little different, I'm a better player, I'm going to enjoy the game, it's going to be a very exciting matchup, let's see what happens on Sunday." ”

(Text, Editor/Faye Wong, Photo/Visual China)