Lehečka and Macháč won their opening matches, so the Czechs can decide their progress from Davis Cup qualification in doubles

On Saturday, the qualifying tournament of Czech tennis players in Portugal for the Davis Cup started. On the clay court in Maia, first Jiri Lehecka confirmed his role as the favourite and then Tomas Machac dominated the three-hour battle with the home number one. Sunday’s doubles match could bring a decisive third point that would ensure Jaroslav Navrátil’s selection to the final tournament of the traditional competition.

From 4 p.m. Lehečka, the 39th player in the world rankings, played Nuno Borges, who is currently ranked 105th in the singles rankings. The decisive break of the first set came at 5:4 for the young Czech, who won the opening set.

The second set followed a similar pattern. Lehečka took the third match point on the Portuguese’s serve and won twice 6:4. The match lasted less than a hundred minutes.

Much longer was the clash between Machac and João Sousa, which was a duel between the 122nd and 64th player in the world. The first set went to a tiebreak, which the native of Beroun won after a fight in the ratio 8::6.

However, the second set was not so good, as he lost his serve four times. Sousa lost his serve only twice and was able to enjoy the tie thanks to a partial result of 6::3.

The third game of the deciding set was marathon. The Portuguese number one fended off seven break points, but she was unable to respond to the eighth one and Macháč took a promising lead.

He then increased it with another break. After a three-hour battle and a second match point, the 22-year-old Czech player was able to celebrate a second point for the team led by the non-playing captain Navratil thanks to a 7:6, 3:6 and 6:2 victory.

Sunday’s programme at the Complexo Municipal de Ténis da Maia will be played again from 6pm.

The names of Tomáš Macháč and Adam Pavlásek have been announced for the doubles, after which the Czech Republic’s qualification for the 111th Davis Cup final may already be decided. However, this nomination is still subject to change.

Source: Davis Cup