A lifetime victory for Lehecka, in Rotterdam he stepped on Shapovalov!

Jiří Lehečka successfully passed the qualification at the tournament in Rotterdam and advanced to the main part of the tournament. In the first round he had a duel with the fifth seeded Shapovalov (12th in the world). The promising Czech showed a very focused performance, played an excellent match and defeated Shapovalov 6: 3, 6: 4. He achieved the biggest victory of his career. In the eighth round he will play the better of Zapata Miralles – Van De Zanschulp.

A great start for the Czech underdog

the 20-year-old Czech entered the match against the favourite in style. At 1:1 he played great on the return and won the opening break of the match. He was able to confirm this advantage on his serve and the Czech youngster took an interesting lead.

However, the road to winning the first set was not easy for Lehecka. At 4::2 he had to solve a big inconvenience on serve. The Canadian favourite worked out 4 break points, but they remained unused.

Lehecka showed great mental strength and finally managed to defend his serve. The seventh game turned out to be the key game of the first set. Lehecka finally managed to win the opening set 6::4, and the sensational victory over the world No. 12 was beginning to take real shape.

A thrilling second set with a Czech happy ending

Lehecek’s opening of the second set was also excellent. The Czech player again played well on the return, and in a balanced opening game he was able to break the Canadian’s serve again. This time, however, he was unable to confirm the break advantage. For the first time in the match he lost his serve, Shapovalov managed to level the match at 1::1.

The second set got an interesting plot. Another important moment of the match took place at 2:2 in the second set. The Czech player took advantage of several errors of the favourite and again won the break. The triumph of his career was again a little closer.

However, Lehečka had problems with holding his serve again. The Canadian had 5 break chances to get back into the match. He didn’t convert any of them, the Czech tennis player once again showed strong mental resilience. This wasted game put Shapovalov under a lot of mental pressure, which was confirmed in the next game.

Lehecka worked out 3 more break points, he could definitely break his opponent’s resistance. But the Canadian turned them all away and reduced it to 4::3. After that, both players kept their serves and at 6::3, 5::4 Lehecka served for the win.

The Czech player handled this difficult moment well. He didn’t allow his opponent a single ball and after winning 6::3, 6::4 he celebrates the most valuable victory of his career.

Source: Livesport