Date night in Miami, Jakub Mensik’s spotlight stolen by Lionel Messi on ATP Tour
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Mencic loses out to Lionel Messi in Miami date night spotlight
Mencic jokes that even rising stars on the ATP Tour can’t compete with Messi’s magic
March 20, 2026
François Nel/Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images
Jakub Mencic watched Inter Milan play Lionel Messi on Wednesday.
Jerome Coombe
Jakub Mensik may be one of the rising stars on the ATP Tour, but even he knows when he’s been upstaged.
The 20-year-old Czech, the defending champion of this week’s Miami Open hosted by ETA, swapped center court for the stands to watch the Inter Miami game with girlfriend Josefina on Wednesday.
The battle for attention in the stadium of eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi has proven to be a losing battle.
“Date idea: competing with Messi for attention (0/10 not recommended),” Mencic joked on Instagram.
Mensik’s joke is easy to relate to, but it also resonates because Messi, ranked 13th in the world, has had his share of memorable Messi moments himself. After stunning Novak Djokovic to win the ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami last year, Mencic fulfilled a “childhood dream” by meeting the Argentine icon.
Back on the court, Mensik continued his strong run through the first three months of 2026. He won the title in Auckland in January and surged to ninth place at the PIF ATP Live Event in Turin, firmly on track to make his debut at the end-of-season Nitto ATP Finals.
However, South Florida still has a lot of work to do before he can start thinking about Turin. Mencic will defend his title against either Sebastian Baez or Adam Walton in Miami, and while Messi may steal the show overnight, the Czech will want to make sure all eyes are on him this week.
