The 19-year-old Czech sensation, Jakub Mensik, stunned the tennis world on Sunday with a straight-set victory over his “idol,” Novak Djokovic, to claim the prestigious Miami Open title. This remarkable feat makes Mensik the first Czech player to conquer an ATP Masters 1000 event since Tomas Berdych in 2005, and remarkably, the second-youngest champion in Miami’s history. But his newfound fame extends beyond the court, as his recent photoshoot with controversial figure Jake Paul has also set the internet abuzz.

Well, talking about meeting superstars in Miami, Jakub Mensik got the chance to shake hands with the Argentine soccer star, Lionel Messi, in the build-up to his SF match against America’s Taylor Fritz. Speaking about that iconic moment, the 19-year-old said, “Meeting this legend, not even a human, it’s not happening every day. I was shaking his hand… kind of chilling with him a little bit. I didn’t wash my hand before I stepped on the court, and probably that was the key for today.“

Highlighting the historic moment in his life, facing Novak Djokovic in a do-or-die match in Miami and beating him by 7-6(4),7-6(4), the Czech star said, “To be honest, I don’t know what to say. It feels incredible, obviously. It was probably the biggest day of my life and I did super, which I’m really glad [about], to show the performance and keep the nerves outside of the court before the match. I feel just super happy and I think that the feelings will come later.” Everything went fine until this! 

A few hours after his title triumph in Miami, Jakub Mensik shared a post on his X handle, posing with the American professional boxer, influencer, and actor, Jake Paul inside a boxing ring with Paul holding the Miami Open trophy in his hand. The caption: “🙈“

Jake Paul’s history of controversial statements and actions is well-documented, often drawing significant backlash from fans worldwide. His past remarks targeting figures like Dustin Poirier, Dana White, Nate Diaz, and even Conor McGregor’s wife have cemented his image as a divisive figure.

Now, the sight of him alongside the newly crowned Miami Open champion, Jakub Mensik, has ignited a fresh wave of disapproval, with fans taking to social media to voice their disappointment with the young tennis star’s association.

Jakub Mensik’s recent meeting with Jake Paul dubbed “april fools joke”

Talking about receiving the negativities all the time, Jake Paul once said, “I love proving people wrong and, as you know, I am one of the most hated people in the world, especially your fanbase, people in the UK. I am hated, man, and people have so much to say about me. And I love to prove these people wrong and I love to take their negative energy, harness it, use it to motivate me and fuel me. And to continue to propel my career.” 

While Jake Paul is no stranger to public criticism, the intense backlash directed at Jakub Mensik for simply meeting him is a stark and perhaps surprising turn of events, especially considering Mensik’s recent rise to overnight fame. Highlighting this further, a fan commented, “What’s the point? How to win a title and lose your reputation in record time.” 

With his impressive performances in Miami, he became the youngest player to win more than six tie-breaks at a Masters 1000 event. Not only that, his emphatic straight-set triumph over Djokovic has now pushed him to his career-high ranking of number 24 in the world. Only three other players have won their maiden singles title at a Masters 1000 event before Mensik. Despite all these astonishing feats, that one picture with Paul now seems to have spoiled the party for the tennis star. “Bruh, i hope you have some boundaries with that guy i guess….,” wrote another fan.

After his emphatic victory against Novak Djokovic, several tennis stars came up to showcase their love and admiration for the young Czech. For example, Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, wrote, “standing ovation 👏 for Mansik, came into @MiamiOpen with 8-6 record on the year, the 19-year-old gets his 1st @atptour 🏆 taking out Djoker 👊😎👌👍 💪 Holy Toledo.” However, his appearance inside the boxing ring with Jake Paul didn’t look too impressive to the fans. Another one commented, “I was rooting for you yesterday, now I’m signing out.”

Not only Gilbert, but even the American tennis legend, Patrick McEnroe, looked quite impressive with Mensik’s performance in Miami. He also came up with a tweet stating, “Wow. Mensik unreal. He wins @MiamiOpen over @DjokerNole 7-6 7-6 Title 100 will have to wait.” Jakub Mensik was literally living the dream with people from all over the world praising his heroics against the six-time Miami Open champion. But soon that moment got overshadowed by this controversial picture with Paul. “this better be an april fools joke,” wished some of them after seeing him giving a pose with the renowned boxer and entertainer.

Aussie star, Nick Kyrgios, who has a strong camaraderie with both Jake and and his brother, Logan Paul, also heaped praise on Jakub Mensik’s performance against his close friend, Novak Djokovic. He tweeted, “Mensik is truly something special. Not just to have such composure against the greatest of all time on such a stage, but the fact that he is 19….. this is truly a special kid with plenty of potential to do special things. ✨.”

Even someone like Djokovic, who doesn’t like to lose, was spotted saying Mensik is “one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to.” This depicts the love and admiration this youngster has rapidly gained through his impressive performances over the years. However, his picture with Paul didn’t receive any love from the fans, and one of them even suggested, “Some ppl in this sport really need to fire their PR team or smth bc dude…“

Well, as they say, it often only takes one small negative event to overshadow a much larger accomplishment.