The 7 lowest-ranked men to beat Novak Djokovic in a final: ft. world No 54 Jakub Mensik

Oli Dickson Jefford 31 Mar 2025 2:13 PM

Novak Djokovic & Jakub Mensik at the 2025 Miami Open, Djokovic & Holger Rune at the 2022 Paris Masters.

Jakub Mensik & Holger Rune are among the lowest-ranked men to beat Novak Djokovic in a final.

Jakub Mensik stunned the tennis world on Sunday with an astonishing victory over tennis great Novak Djokovic in the final.

The world No 54 is the lowest-ranked Miami Open champion in tournament history, and is now one of just seven men ranked outside the top 10 to beat Djokovic in an ATP Tour final.

7) Alexander Zverev – No 17, 2017 Italian Open

Zverev is currently second in the world, though he was outside the top 15 when he secured a significant breakthrough with victory over Djokovic in the 2017 Italian Open final.

The 16th and final seed in the draw in Rome, world No 17 Zverev defeated Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 to lift his fourth career title, and the first of seven Masters 1000 titles to date.

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are the only other players to beat Djokovic in an Italian Open final.

=5) Karen Khachanov – No 18, 2018 Paris Masters

Ranked just one spot lower than Zverev was in Rome the previous year, world No 18 Khachanov stunned a resurgent Djokovic to lift the biggest title of his career at the Paris Masters in 2018.

Djokovic was back at second in the world, having won Wimbledon and the US Open that summer, and defeated Roger Federer in the semi-finals heading into this.

However, he was no match for an unseeded Khachanov, the Russian prevailing 7-5, 6-4 to win what remains his only Masters 1000 title.

=5) Holger Rune – No 18, 2022 Paris Masters

Djokovic has only lost two of his nine Paris Masters finals, and both those defeats came to players ranked 18th in the world.

Four years after Khachanov beat him, 19-year-old Rune stunned the tennis world with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in Bercy to claim his first Masters 1000 title.

Victory for the world No 18 ensured his top-10 debut, having beaten five top-10 players in total – including Djokovic – on his way to victory.

4) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – No 20, 2008 Bangkok Open

Eight months after an unseeded Tsonga had lost to Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open final, the Frenchman gained revenge in Thailand.

In just his second career final, world No 20 Tsonga beat world No 3 Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-3 to lift his maiden ATP Tour title in Bangkok.

It was the first of 18 career titles for Tsonga, who would go on to reach a high of world No 5 in the ATP Rankings.

3) Tommy Haas – No 41, 2009 Halle Championships

Djokovic has won just one grass court title outside of his seven Wimbledon crowns, with former world No 2 Haas having denied him a title in Halle back in 2009.

The German had fallen to world No 41 amid a string of injury problems and was a significant underdog in the final against Djokovic, who was ranked fourth in the world at the time.

However, perhaps inspired by a home crowd in Halle, Haas battled his way to a surprise 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1 victory at the ATP 500 event.

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2) Jakub Mensik – No 54, 2025 Miami Open

Mensik is now ranked inside the top 30 thanks to his extraordinary run in Miami, but approaching the event had never won an ATP title and was outside the top 50.

Victories over sixth seed Jack Draper and third seed Taylor Fritz helped power the 19-year-old into just a second ATP final, where he was a significant underdog against fourth seed Djokovic.

However, a clinical serving display saw the Czech claim a memorable 7-6(4), 7-6(4) triumph, the world No 54 becoming the lowest-ranked man to ever win the Miami Open.

1) Stan Wawrinka – No 69, 2006 Croatia Open

A future world No 3, who would later down Djokovic in two Grand Slam finals, Wawrinka remains the lowest-ranked man to defeat the Serbian in an ATP Tour final.

However, the Swiss’ victory in the 2006 Croatia Open final came via retirement, with the score 6-6(1-3) in Umag when Djokovic was forced to end the final against the world No 69 due to injury.

That makes Mensik the lowest-ranked man to beat Djokovic in a completed ATP Tour final.