Jakub Mensik revealed a Lionel Messi-handshake powered him to a surprise semi-final victory in the Miami Open.<\/p>\n
Mensik reached the final<\/a> of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time in his career as the 19-year-old aced his way past Taylor Fritz but beforehand, he had a special visit from football superstar Messi.<\/p>\n The Argentinian, who after a glittering career in Europe, now plays for Inter Miami, 20 miles from the Miami Open venue, met with the Czech ahead of the game.<\/p>\n Mensik revealed he did not wash his hand after shaking Messi\u2019s hand in the build-up to the semi-final match.<\/p>\n \u201cMeeting this legend, not even a human, it\u2019s not happening every day,\u201d Mensik said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was shaking his hand\u2026 kind of chilling with him a little bit. I didn\u2019t wash my hand before I stepped on the court, and probably that was the key for today.\u201d<\/p>\n The meeting left a lasting impression on Mensik who, after securing the win, wrote \u201cThx Leo\u201d on the camera lens.<\/p>\n Standing in the way of the Czech and his first title is Novak Djokovic, another self-confessed idol of Mensik.<\/p>\n The pair have only faced off once before with Djokovic winning but Mensik said he is competing to win, not just take part.<\/p>\n \u201cI am a completely different player from that match,\u201d he said of their 2024 Shanghai match. \u201cI remember being very nervous when I stepped onto the court because I wasn\u2019t mentally mature.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t doubt I will feel nerves on Sunday, but I believe I will handle them much better. Back then, I went out to enjoy the experience, but now I am here to win.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe one of my greatest virtues is how I handle pressure moments in matches. I can stay calm, focused, and play my best tennis. That\u2019s why I\u2019m winning so many tiebreaks this year.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I understand how the circuit works, I have confidence in my abilities, and I feel that I am becoming a better tennis player every day,\u201d<\/p>\n More news from the Miami Open<\/strong><\/p>\n Why Emma Raducanu was a big winner despite her Miami Open defeat<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Why was Novak Djokovic wearing gloves in his latest Miami Open match?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n For Djokovic, it is a chance at history as he could become the oldest Masters 1000 winner in history but also record his 100th ATP title win.<\/p>\n The Serb admitted that since he won his 99th, the Olympic Games in 2024, he has been dreaming of the next victory.<\/p>\n \u201cEver since I won my 99th [title], which was the Olympic Games in Paris, I\u2019ve been playing with the prospect of winning the special 100 titles,\u201d said Djokovic.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to find that necessary and much-needed level of tennis that will put me in a position to fight for a trophy, a big trophy.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing this week, to be honest. I\u2019ve been very happy with the way I prepared for the tournament, the way I\u2019ve been playing. I haven\u2019t dropped a set.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity. Let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Djokovic also received a visit from Messi<\/a>, admitting he was nervous to see the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner in the crowd.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great honour to have King Leo in the stands. I think it\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve played in front of Messi, and honestly, I was a little nervous,\u201d said Djokovic.<\/p>\n \u201cI am very grateful for his attendance with his family. I have always been a fan of him, as most of the world has, throughout his career.\u201d<\/p>\n Read next:\u00a0How Sinner outscored Zverev, Alcaraz, Djokovic in Race To Turin despite playing only one tournament<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The post How Lionel Messi powered Jakub Mensik to Miami Open final<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jakub Mensik revealed a Lionel Messi-handshake powered him to a surprise semi-final victory in the Miami Open. Mensik reached the final of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time in his career as the 19-year-old aced his way past Taylor Fritz but beforehand, he had a special visit from football superstar Messi. The Argentinian, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}