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We start off this week with Tennis and an upset for the ages played out in Miami, as great of the game Novak Djokovic was denied a 100th ATP title by the little-known teenager Jakub Mensik.
Truth be told, Mensik is a rising star in the game, but going into his first Masters 1000 final, very few thought the 54th-ranked Czech national had a chance of beating arguably the greatest tennis player in history. But that is exactly what happened, after a five-and-a-half-hour rain delay.
The 19-year-old raced into a 4-1 lead against the Serbian veteran in the first set, with his serve proving effective in the early stages of the match. Djokovic, however, showed his class to fight back and force a tiebreak, despite suffering with the humidity, using sawdust on his hands and applying eye drops. However, his comeback was cut short, as Mensik started the breaker as he did the set, racing into a lead. Despite Djokovic saving two set points, the young Czech star proved too strong and won the tiebreak 7-4.
With Djokovic continuing to struggle through the heat and humidity, Mensik was able to continue his push towards a first ATP title. The Czech player did not face a single break point on his serve in the second set, as it again went to a tiebreak. While Djokovic’s class was clearly above the level of Mensik, any longer point was dominated by the younger player. Mensik was forcing the 37-year-old across the backcourt and gave himself three match points. While Djokovic was able to save the first, a fitting wide serve gave Mensik his first ATP title.
The Czech rising star has now risen to 24th in the world rankings, but for Djokovic, the wait for his first title since 2023 goes on.
Now to Formula 1, and despite there being no race this weekend, the whole of the paddock was left shocked as Red Bull made a huge move to demote their struggling driver Liam Lawson. The New Zealander was afforded only two races with the senior Red Bull team, as the announcement was made that he would be replaced with Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda from next weekend’s Grand Prix, fittingly taking place in Japan.
Lawson’s struggles were clear, qualifying at the back of the grid in China, in a car that, although not the fastest, world champion Max Verstappen is still challenging for podiums. The decision to promote Lawson from the junior Red Bull team was a decision that had confused some, given the relative experience of Tsunoda compared to Lawson. Red Bull chief Helmut Marko acknowledged that ‘a mistake was made’ in promoting Liam Lawson to Red Bull. While that may prove to be the case, many experts have slammed the move, stating that Lawson was never really given the chance. The Red Bull is known to be a tough car to drive, with clear team leader and arguably the best driver on the grid in Max Verstappen, being very particular about how he wants it to perform. Whether Yuki Tsunoda fares any better, we will find out over the course of the season.
For Liam Lawson, the demotion will be extremely difficult to take. Thrown into the junior Red Bull team last season to replace a struggling Daniel Ricciardo, his rise to a top team was meteoric. But he will at least have an opportunity to show the Red Bull bosses his pace and resilience, as he continues the season with Racing Bulls, the junior team in the Red Bull family.
Moving to Cricket next, and the IPL is fully up and running. Every team other than the Punjab Kings has played two or three matches, with the early table taking shape. The season is long, and the Mumbai Indians will not be giving up this season despite losing both of their games so far. But for the teams with 100% records, this weekend helped cement their push for the playoffs.
On Friday, Royal Challengers Bangalore faced off against Chennai Super Kings at their fortress, the Chidambaram Stadium. RCB opened the batting with Phil Salt once again getting off to a flyer. Another half-century was in sight, but the brilliance of MS Dhoni behind the stumps caught Salt off guard for an excellent stumping. Kohli and Paddikal both contributed with the bat before captain Rajat Patidar scored an excellent 51 off 32 balls to anchor the innings as wickets fell around him. RCB’s score looked modest until Australian powerhouse Tim David came in, smacking 22 off just eight balls, to leave his side with a total of 196/7. In response, Chennai struggled to keep with the run rate, losing wickets in the top order early on, as Rachin Ravindra made the only meaningful score with his 41 off 31 balls. By the time Ravindra Jadeja was joined at the crease by the mercurial MS Dhoni, the game was all but done. In what could be his final season, batting at number 9, Dhoni made a quick 30 off just 16 balls, but CSK’s 146/8 after 20 overs was 50 short of their opponents.
The other team with a 100% record at the start of IPL 2025 is Delhi Capitals, who also won convincingly in the early game on Sunday. Facing off against the dangerous batting line-up of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi’s bowlers came to the fore. Aussie paceman Mitchell Starc picked up three early wickets to decimate SRH’s top order. Youngster Aniket Verma came to the crease with his side staring at a lowly total. But a truly breathtaking 74 off 41, coupled with a swift 31 from wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, took SRH to a modest 163 all out. Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers, achieving his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav also picked up three wickets as Delhi dominated the first innings. And there was no change as DC went out to bat, with openers Faf du Plessis scoring quickly and Jake Fraser-McGurk also contributing at around a run a ball. Faf raced to his 50 before falling to Zeeshan Ansari, though at this point the game was all but won. Fraser-McGurk and KL Rahul were the other batters to go, but Abishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs guided DC to the required total with 24 runs to spare.
IPL 2025 Table (as of 31st March):
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 2 matches played, 2 wins, 0 losses, NRR of 2.266, totaling 4 points
- Delhi Capitals: 2 matches played, 2 wins, 0 losses, NRR of 1.320, totaling 4 points.
- Lucknow Super Giants: 2 matches played, 1 win, 1 loss, NRR of 0.963, totaling 2 points.
- Gujarat Titans: 2 matches played, 1 win, 1 loss, NRR of 0.625, totaling 2 points.
- Punjab Kings: 1 match played, 1 win, 0 losses, NRR of 0.550, totaling 2 points.
- Kolkata Knight Riders: 2 matches played, 1 win, 1 loss, NRR of -0.308, totaling 2 points.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: 3 matches played, 1 win, 2 losses, NRR of -0.871, totaling 2 points.
- Chennai Super Kings: 2 matches played, 1 win, 1 loss, NRR of -1.013, totaling 2 points.
- Mumbai Indians: 2 matches played, 0 wins, 2 losses, NRR of -1.163, totaling 0 points.
- Rajasthan Royals: 2 matches played, 0 wins, 2 losses, NRR of -1.882, totaling 0 points.
Domestic Football returned following the end of the international break, with many of Europe’s top teams back in action after a two-week break.
Starting in Spain, Barcelona continued their search for the La Liga title, with a resounding victory over Girona. Polish legend Robert Lewandowski scored a brace, as he spearheaded his side to a 4-1 victory. The result moved Barca three points clear of El-Classico rivals Real Madrid, who also won over the weekend. Real had to come from behind to beat relegation-threatened Leganes. Two goals from Kylian Mbappe, and another from Jude bellingham saw the reigning champions scrape through 3-2.
In England, FA Cup quarter-finals meant there was no Premier League action. However Several of the top-flight sides were in action, vying for a place in the semis and a day out for the fans at Wembley. In the first game on Saturday, Crystal palace proved too strong for Fulham, despite playing without the home advantage. English midfielder Eberechi Eze scored and provided an assist in a comfortable 3-0 win. High flying Nottingham Forest also made it through to the semi-final, after winning a penalty shoot-out against Brighton following a scoreless 120 minutes.
On Sunday Aston Villa booked their place at Wembley, beating the lowest ranked team left in the competition. Championship side Preston were second best throughout as Villa came through in another 3-0 scoreline. A resurgent Marcus Rashford scored a brace, as the English forward continues to rediscover the form that left him at Manchester United. Over to the blue side of Mancherster, as City came from Behind to beat a good Bournemouth side thanks to goals from January signing Omar Marmoush, and talismanic forward Erling Haaland. The fear for Manchester City will be Haaland’s availability for upcoming games, as the striker came off shortly after scoring City’s first goal.
FA Cup semi-final draw:
Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City
Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa
In Italy, Napoli kept within touching distance of League leaders Inter, after a hard fought victory over AC Milan. Goals from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku inside the first 20 minutes of the game were enough for all three points. Milan missed chances after Santiago Giminez missed a penalty, and Luka Jovic scored in the 74th minute. Inter came past Udinese earlier on Sunday, to maintain a three point lead at the top of Serie A.
Bayern Munich continued their march towards the Bundesliga title, With Harry Kane and Leroy Sane the standout performers in a 3-2 win over St Pauli. The Bavarian side hold a six point advantage over last season’s league winners, Bayer Leverkusen.
In France, the title is destined to once again go to perennial winners PSG, who hold a 21 point advantage following their 6-1 battering of St-Etienne.
To Golf, Australia’s Min Woo Lee claimed his maiden PGA Tour title with a thrilling victory at the Houston Open, holding off late surges from world number one Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland in a dramatic finish. Leading by three shots on 21 under, Lee stumbled at the par-five 16th when his tee shot found the water, resulting in a bogey. Meanwhile, Woodland produced a sensational finish, carding an eagle and two birdies in his final four holes to equal the course record of 62 and set the clubhouse lead at 19 under.
Scheffler, playing in the penultimate group, had a chance to draw level on the 17th but missed a crucial putt for a fifth consecutive birdie, finishing alongside Woodland on 19 under after a final-round 63. With the pressure on, Lee needed a par on the 18th to secure victory and held his nerve, signing for a 67 to claim the title by a single stroke at 20 under.
Finishing off with Basketball this week, and a heated clash between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons took a dramatic turn on Sunday as a brawl broke out during Minnesota’s 123-104 victory, leading to the ejection of five players and two coaches.
The altercation erupted early in the second quarter when Minnesota’s Naz Reid reacted to a bump from Detroit’s Ron Holland during a dribble. As tensions flared, players from both teams became involved, and the scuffle quickly escalated into a melee that spilled into the courtside spectator area, prompting some fans to leave their seats. Team officials rushed to intervene, but even after the fight was broken up, tempers remained high with players continuing verbal exchanges. In response, game officials ejected Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart, Holland, and Marcus Sasser, along with Minnesota’s Reid and Donte DiVincenzo. Additionally, Pistons head coach John-Blair Bickerstaff and Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni were also dismissed as order was restored.
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