Is Jiri Lehecka going to have a great career? Participation in the ATP Next Gen Finals is a great promise

Jiri Lehecka is very likely to play at the ATP Next Gen Finals, which is a tournament for the top eight players (under 21) in a calendar year. The tournament was held for the first time in 2017 and so far no Czech tennis player has participated.

The ATP Next Gen Finals has been regularly played in Milan, Italy since 2017. Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Denis Shapovalov, Borna Choric, Jared Donaldson, Daniil Medvedev and Chong Heon made it to the debut edition.

A year later it was Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, Jaume Munar and Liam Caruana. So it’s safe to say that the vast majority of players will, over time, be among the wider elite on the ATP circuit.

Now it looks like the tournament will also have a Czech line-up. Jiri Lehecka is currently ranked sixth in the Next Gen rankings, with the top eight advancing. Carlos Alcaraz is expected to miss the Tournament of Champions.

The same could happen for Jannik Sinner, currently the second player, so even a possible ranking drop for Jiri Lehecka in the final months of the 2022 calendar year shouldn’t be a big problem.

However, the winner of the Liberec event can be expected to add some more points. There are still tournaments in Mety, Sofia and Florence to come.

So what kind of opponents can he face in Milan? In the absence of Sinner and Alcaraz, the biggest favourite would be the home team’s Lorenzo Musetti.

But Holger Rune, Jack Draper, Chun Hin Tseng or Brandon Nakashima will not be without chances.

Sources: ATP, Next Gen Finals