No Sinner, many a winner
Following Jannik Sinner’s Australian Open win and the commencement of his three-month suspension, 13 ATP Tour events have been won by 13 different players. At Indian Wells, 14th-ranked Jack Draper earned his third career singles title and first Masters 1000. An even bigger surprise happened in Miami, when 19-year-old Jakub Mensik won his first ATP Tour title. Mensik’s major victories in Miami included a 7-6, 7-6 win over Draper, a third-set tiebreaker triumph versus Fritz (who’d beaten him handily at the 2024 US Open) in the semis, and then, in the finals, he got past Djokovic in a pair of tiebreakers.
Having gone 7-0 in tiebreakers on his way to the title, Mensik said, “But, yeah, in the tiebreakers, I knew that if I can really start to focus on it, on my return, put it just ball in. And then, you know, give my best in the rallies, and actually, that I did in the tiebreakers, I didn’t do the much mistakes like I was doing during the whole set, and yeah, actually, he was the one who did the first mistake.”
Though stopped short of a 100th career singles title, Djokovic must surely be buoyed by reaching a final 18 years after first winning Miami. “Very grateful,” Djokovic said following Sunday’s final. “Just enjoyed my experience overall. It was amazing run. Unfortunately ended with a loss in the finals, but I played some really good tennis up to today.”
Will different titlists emerge throughout the clay court season? Or might some of those 13 earn another?
Read More: Jannik Sinner rivals fail to capitalize on No. 1’s absence
