Mensik, 19, went to the referee’s room to announce his withdrawal before his opener against Roberto Bautista Agut on 20 March, but the official was out for lunch.

He then went to the physiotherapist to ask them to fill in paperwork confirming his withdrawal, but was persuaded to stay on.

“I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t run,” he said. “I started to treat it, started to take painkillers. Nothing was helping.

“I was visiting the referee’s office to say ‘guys, I’m pulling out’, but he was having lunch.”

Mensik went to a physiotherapist, who deemed the injury not to be serious and began treatment to enable him to compete.

“After a few minutes I started to feel a little relief,” said Mensik, who has risen to a career-high 24th in the world rankings.

“I took different painkillers, which helped a little bit. I was like, ‘OK, let’s try it. It’s like 30 minutes before the match. I can walk. I can run. Let’s see’.

“Somehow I won the first round and then I had one day off, which of course, for my knee was much better. Day by day the knee was getting better and with that also my game.”

Mensik dropped just two sets on his run to the final, which included victories over British number one Jack Draper and fourth seed Taylor Fritz.

He clinched a first ATP Tour title with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) win over Serbia’s Djokovic on a sticky, humid night in Florida.

Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, had been bidding to become just the third man in the Open era to win 100 singles titles.

However, the 37-year-old’s wait will go on after his loss to Mensik, who was just 10 months old when Djokovic won his first title in 2006.

Mensik is the ninth-youngest Masters 1000 champion and the second-youngest in Miami after Carlos Alcaraz.

He is another rising star in the men’s game, possessing a huge serve and a thumping backhand that has taken him inside the world’s top 50.

Djokovic invited Mensik to practice with him after the 2022 Australian Open when he was still a junior, and Mensik said in his winner’s speech that Djokovic was “the reason I am here”.

He said: “It’s just crazy and unbelievable what he’s achieving in this sport during long period of the time.

“Imagine me in 20 years from now, when I will be 39, playing the finals? I hope so, but it’s crazy to think about it like this.”

Fourth seed Djokovic warmly congratulated Mensik at the end of the match and said afterwards: “It hurts me to admit it but you were better.

“I wish you the best of luck. Maybe you’ll let me win one of the next times we play.”

It has been some rise for Mensik, who broke into the top 100 in February 2024 by reaching the Qatar Open final.

In Miami he beat three top-10 players in Djokovic, Britain’s Jack Draper and American Taylor Fritz to lift the biggest title of his career, and handled the pressure of the occasion well.

After a five-and-a-half hour rain delay before the final, settling into a rhythm was not easy, but Mensik adjusted quicker than Djokovic.

He broke Djokovic at the first opportunity and his first serve popped as he rushed out to a 4-1 lead.

Djokovic, by contrast, had a rough start. He fell twice, had to apply eye drops after being bothered by swelling under his right eye and resorted to using sawdust to help him grip his racquet in the humidity.

However, his serve improved as the set progressed and his backhand slice in particular trouble Mensik, who eventually handed the break back.

A tie-break felt inevitable and Djokovic paid for a poor start to it, although he saved two set points before Mensik smashed his way to the opener.

The match was following a similar pattern to their previous meeting in Shanghai last year, when Mensik took the first set on a breaker before fading in the next two.

However, this time he kept up the intensity. Mensik did not face a break point in the second set and the heat and humidity began to take a toll on Djokovic.

Breathing heavily and wiping his face on a towel between every point, Djokovic could only watch as Mensik sent three excellent serves past him to force a tie-break, before the Serb whacked his thigh with his racquet after dropping the opening point in it.

If the point was short, then it was Djokovic who came out on top. But Mensik dug in to the long rallies, sending Djokovic darting around at the back of court and ultimately setting up three match points.

The first one went by as Djokovic sent a superb return right onto the baseline, but Mensik ensured a fitting end with a serve out wide to clinch the second.

He will now rise to a career-high of 24th in the world rankings.

For Djokovic, the wait for a first ATP title since 2023 goes on, but there were signs that his serve in particular has improved under coach Andy Murray.

There were seven breaks of serve in a hard-fought first set, which swung the way of both players, before the Belarusian won a game to love on Pegula’s serve.

Sabalenka’s power got her out of trouble on a number of occasions while Pegula’s struggles to hold her own serve, along with her inability to deal with the force of her opponent’s game, proved the world number four’s downfall.

Her frustration grew as Sabalenka took control of the second set. The 26-year-old broke Pegula at 5-2 up to win the tournament without dropping a set as she hit 31 winners in the match, compared to 12 from her rival.

Sabalenka won the Brisbane International in January but had gone into the Miami Open final having lost her previous two finals, with defeats by American Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Mirra Andreeva at Indian Wells two weeks ago.

“I’m speechless,” said Sabalenka, who beat Pegula in last year’s US Open final. “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 super focused and playing point by point. It feels super special and really happy with the title – the first 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.”

Meanwhile, British duo Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool were in action in the men’s doubles final but suffered a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 defeat by top seeds Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez and Mate Pavic.

He will face unseeded Czech player Jakub Mensik in Sunday’s final following his shock 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-4) victory over American Taylor Fritz in Friday’s second semi-final.

Bulgaria’s Dimitrov broke Djokovic in the opening game, but the Serb, watched by his coach Andy Murray, broke back.

World number five Djokovic, 37, reeled off five straight games to win the first set.

Dimitrov made a shaky start to the second set and the 24-time Grand Slam champion took advantage to go through 6-2 6-3.

“Ever since I won my 99th [title], which was the Olympic Games in Paris, I’ve been playing with the prospect of winning the special 100 titles,” said Djokovic.

“I’ve 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.

“That’s what I’ve been doing this week, to be honest. I’ve been very happy with the way I prepared for the tournament, the way I’ve been playing. I haven’t dropped a set.

“It’s a great opportunity. Let’s see what happens in two days.”

Things started off well in windy conditions for 14th seed Dimitrov, 33, who won the first game on Djokovic’s serve but was unable to capitalise and the classy Serb hit his stride and easily won the first set.

After a fan was ejected after saying something to annoy Dimitrov, the Bulgarian made a slow start to the second set.

Dimitrov, last year’s beaten finalist, won three of his service games, but Djokovic was just too good.

The six-time Miami Open champion only made five unforced errors to his opponent’s 32.

“There were a couple of tight games in the last part of the match,” said Djokovic.

“It was 4-2, 30-30 and he missed a couple of forehands, and then I found some really good serves with new balls in the last game.

“These were tricky conditions. Very swirly. The wind was not consistent, changing a lot. It’s not easy to find control of the ball.

“I tried to make him play in these conditions because he’s a clean hitter. I knew he’d struggle if I made him play an extra shot. He struggled with the first serve more than I did.”

The fourth seed, at 37 years and 10 months old, is the oldest ATP Masters 1000 finalist ever, having also been the oldest semi-finalist.

Djokovic will face 19-year-old Mensik at the opposite end of his career arc, with the Czech teenager reaching his first final of a Masters event.

The world number 54 lost his only previous final on the ATP Tour in Qatar last year and won through in Miami despite failing to break the serve of third seed Fritz.

His victory was sealed in a flurry of aces, sending down 25 compared with Fritz’s 14 as he edged to victory by winning tie-breaks in the first and third sets.

The rising young star put his unexpected victory down to a chance meeting with Argentina footballing great Lionel Messi after the Inter Miami forward had gone into the locker room at the Hard Rock Stadium to congratulate Djokovic on his win.

“Meeting this legend, not even a human, it’s not happening every day,” said Mensik.

“I just chilled with him a bit and shook his hand. And after shaking that hand, I didn’t wash it before the match, you know, to bring me some luck, so probably that was the key for me today.”