Will Lehečka elevate Czech men’s tennis to the highest spheres? His goals are high

Czech tennis is dominated by women, that’s a fact that’s been clear lately. Among men, there is no successor to Petr Korda, Tomas Berdych or Radek Stepanek. But Jiří Lehečka is not in the highest ranks of his career. The twenty-one-year-old tennis player is a great promise for Czech sport. How has his success at this year’s Australian Open affected him?

Jiří Lehečka is now in the middle of the fourth ten of the ATP rankings. He has never been higher. But at twenty-one years old, time is definitely on his side. If we compare players under the age of 22, the native of Mladá Boleslav is even sixth in the world.

The best current Czech tennis player made himself known to the world last year. He reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam, where he defeated Italian Musetti and Canadian Shapovalov. At the end of the year he shone at the prestigious Next Gen Finals, the Tournament of Champions for players under 21.

But the high point so far came earlier this year. At the Australian Open, he began a run that was matched by the likes of Auger Aliassime and Croatia’s Coric. Both top 20 players in the world rankings. Lehecka reached the quarterfinals at the opening Grand Slam of the year.

Higher goals

Every success is, of course, pleasant. Thanks to that in Melbourne, Lehecka moved up the rankings and is now among the top-seeded tennis players in tournaments. He has more playable opponents in the opening rounds and his confidence is growing. And so are his goals. Though he would have turned it down last year, he is no longer defending his assault on the world’s elite ten.

The sooner the better. And a good opportunity starts these days. The grass part of the season didn’t bring the Czech tennis player a single victory last year. So every win in the coming weeks will be a welcome bonus for his position in the rankings.

The first victory on grass has already come. In the opening round of the tournament in Stuttgart, Lehecka avenged his defeat to American Giron, who knocked him out of Roland Garros two weeks ago.

In Germany, the Czech was delighted after a three-set battle and after winning 4::6, 6::3, 6::4, he is looking forward to a clash with the world number 12. This is another American, Tiafoe.

We can look forward to the match against the 2021 Wimbledon eight-finalist on Wednesday. Will he be the key to another outstanding success for Lehecka?

Sources: ATP, Tennisexplorer