What Frances Tiafoe said to Jakub Mensik after his final-set tiebreak win in Miami

Frances Tiafoe saved two match points before defeating defending Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik.

The American, ranked 20th on the ATP Tour, needed seven match points of his own to defeat Mensik 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.

Tiafoe spoke to Mensik at the net after sealing the win before tearing off his shirt and celebrating with a lively Miami crowd.

Frances Tiafoe opens up about his respect for Jakub Mensik

After the match, Tiafoe shared what he said to Mensik, telling reporters: “I just said [to Mensik] I have a lot of love for you bro. I love what you have been doing. You are so young and you have done some insane things in the game.

“I said I have got a lot of love for you and he said likewise. We have always gotten along great.

“I remember when he qualified and made the third round of The Open. I was [like] bro who are you? How old are you?

“You are out here winning matches and he was like I won The Open last year! I thought ‘you’re pretty good and I didn’t know who you were!’

They played each other once before this Miami meeting, during last year’s Davis Cup qualifier between the USA and Czechia.

Tiafoe’s return to Miami this year has gone well so far, with three hard-fought wins carrying him into the semi-finals. He started with a comeback victory over Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets, followed by another tight three-set battle against Flavio Cobolli.

Frances Tiafoe’s road to the Miami Open quarter-finals

Tiafoe’s chances of reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals improved on Monday after unseeded Terence Atmane knocked out seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Still, Atmane shouldn’t be overlooked. The Frenchman reached the Cincinnati Open semi-finals last year and has shown he can compete with top players.

If Tiafoe gets past Atmane, a quarter-final meeting with second seed Jannik Sinner would likely await. He has lost four of their five previous encounters, with his only win coming at the 2021 Vienna Open.

Their most recent match came at the 2024 Cincinnati Open final, where Sinner won 7-6, 6-2.

Should Tiafoe pull off an upset against Sinner, a potential semi-final clash with third seed Alexander Zverev could follow. The path to the title wouldn’t get any easier from there.

If he reaches the final, he could face a range of opponents. The top half of the draw has opened up following Carlos Alcaraz’s loss to Sebastian Korda, leaving Taylor Fritz as the highest remaining seed in that section at number six.

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