But the largest roadblock was the youth and power of 6-foot-4, 19-year-old phenom Jakub Mensik, who outdueled the 37-year-old Serbian in two tiebreakers 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) to win his first ATP title.
Ranked 54th entering the tournament, the Czech Republic teenager plowed through Djokovic with poise and a stellar 130 mph serve.
He collected 14 aces and got broken only once.
Mensik bashed a service winner on match point and fell on his back.
“You’re the one I idolized when I was young,″ Mensik said to Djokovic during the ceremony after the match that lasted two hours and three minutes.
“I started playing tennis because of you.″
Mensik’s victory spoiled the party for Djokovic, who was seeking his 100th career title and a record seventh in the Miami Open.
Djokovic will have to wait, while the teenager looks ready to join the elite.
“This is a joyous moment for him and his family – an unbelievable tournament, first of many,″ Djokovic said.
“It hurts me to admit it, you were better. In the clutch moments you delivered the goods. For a young player like yourself, this is a great feature.″
The crowd pulled hard for Djokovic, who hadn’t played here since 2019.
More than three-quarters of the fans stuck around despite the massive delay, chanting “No-vak!’’ and singing his name across critical parts of the match.
Djokovic, far from a fan favorite here earlier in his career, saluted the fans, saying it was one of the warmest crowds he’s had ever.
But the men’s leader with 24 Grand Slam titles seemed compromised by his eye issue, with redness seen under the eyelid.
Djokovic applied eyedrops during two changeovers in the first set. It was unclear if it affected his vision.
During the set, he also slipped twice on the court.
The humidity reached 90 percent after hours of rain disrupted the card.
Sweating profusely, Djokovic asked the umpire for a bucket of sawdust to sprinkle on his wet grip.
Mensik had lost to Djokovic in a three-setter in October at the Shanghai Masters but the youngster said before the match he had played too nervously.
Mensik was playing his first ATP 1000 final.
He was not quite two years old when Djokovic won his first Miami Open title in 2007.
There was more fearlessness this time than in Shanghai.
Mensik got up 3-0 with an early break but Djokovic broke back at 4-3, then held for 4-4 after fans chanted his name.
Mensik held for a 6-5 lead in a game that saw Djokovic take a tumble in the doubles alley chasing a drop shot.
Mensik served it out with his seventh ace.
In the first-set tiebreak, Mensik charged ahead 5-0.
Mensik executed a leaping backhand volley winner and Djokovic muffed a routine forehand drop shot into the net to fall behind 5-0.
On set point, Mensik slugged an overhead smash for a winner.
The match was scheduled for 3am Hong Kong time but the players didn’t take the court until almost six hours later due to rain and organisers deciding on completing the women’s doubles final.
The South Florida rain began during the women’s doubles final pitting Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider against Cristina Bucsa and Miyu Kato, with Andreeva and Shnaider leading 3-0 in the first set.
The women’s players returned to the court later after the rain stopped and the courts were readied by court-drying machinery.
But rain began minutes later before warmups and the umbrella-toting players left the court again.
The women returned to the court an hour later and resumed play.
Andreeva and Schnaider went the distance, prevailing in a third-set match tiebreaker 6-3, 6-7 (5), 10-2. (AP)
