Things tend to get harder with age: recovery from strenuous exercise, a big night out and in some cases achieving our goals and dreams, something 37-year-old Novak Djokovic is finding as his quest for title 100 continues.
He came so close at the weekend in Miami, reaching his eighth final there and 142nd overall. He did it without dropping a set, with movement, serve, everything on point, until he faced 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, who wasn’t born when Djokovic played his first Masters 1000 event and only began playing because of the Serb, his idol. It was Mensik’s first Masters 1000 final.
Firstly, a word on the winner Mensik, who was seconds away from pulling out of the tournament ahead of his first round match with a knee problem. As luck would have it the tournament referee was having lunch, so it was a trip to the physio, treatment and ‘I will give it a go’ in the first round.
He was clutch when he needed to be, mature beyond his years both on and off the court and moves from 54 at the start of Miami to 24 in this week’s world rankings, following his straight-sets final win.