Miami Gardens (United States) (AFP) – Czech teenager Jakub Mensik had a surprise meeting with Lionel Messi before his Miami Open upset win over Taylor Fritz and suggested the Argentine’s winning habit may have rubbed off on him. Mensik, 19, powered to a three-set win which sets up a meeting with Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final — the Czech’s first title game at Masters 1000 level.
Messi went into the locker-rooms at Hard Rock Stadium to meet Djokovic after his earlier win over Grigor Dimitrov, and was introduced to Mensik. “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,” he said with a smile.
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Mensik certainly had Messi on his mind at the end of the game when after his victory he wrote on the camera lens “Thank you Leo.” The Czech said he was glad to have had the opportunity to have seen the personal side of Messi away from his performances on the field. “It’s not just that he has won those Champions Leagues and World Cups and everything; (it was) seeing he’s also a human. It’s really awesome that the dream came true,” he said.
Messi travelled to the tennis tournament after training with his team, local club Inter Miami. The tournament is held at Hard Rock Stadium which will host Messi’s games with Inter Miami in June’s Club World Cup.
© 2024 AFP
