Lehecka lost to Nakashima and fell short of the Next Gen ATP Finals title

Tennis player Jiří Lehečka could end his successful season with an interesting triumph. At the Next Gen ATP Finals, where he was the first Czech in the history, he made it to the final event. However, he was not able to beat his regular group opponent Brandon Nakashima.

The event held in Milan is similar to the Tournament of Champions for players under 21. However, this year’s edition was not attended by the eight top-ranked youngsters on the ATP rankings, as world number one Carlos Alcaraz, number ten Holger Rune and number fifteen Jannik Sinner did not come.

The matches are played in a non-traditional way – three sets to four games and no advantages. In the case of a 3:3 tie, the match will continue with a classic tiebreak. The court is also unconventional, as it is a hard surface, as there is no marked doubles territory.

Eight tennis players took part in the fifth edition. In Group A, American Brandon Nakashima (49th player in the world), Czech Jiri Lehecka (74th) and Italians Francesco Pessaro (119th) and Matteo Arnaldi (134th) competed.

The other players in Group B were Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti (23rd), Britain’s Jack Draper (41st), Taiwan’s Tseng Chun Hsin (90th) and Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker (111th).

The top two tennis players from both rankings also advanced. Lehecka faced Stricker in the semi-finals, whom he defeated 4::1, 4::3 (7::4), 2::4 and 4::1. Nakashima also prevailed over Draper 3::1, after sets of 4::3 (8::6), 1::4, 4::2.

In Saturday’s final, the player from Kněžmost, Central Bohemia, suffered from unsuccessful endings of individual sets, failing to manage shortened games in the first two. In the end he lost 3::4 (5::7), 3::4 (6::8) and 2::4.

“It was a great tournament, this whole week. The final was another tough match. It was just a few points that could have gone either way. I’m happy with the level of my play today. It’s a good way to end the year,” the official ATP Tour website quotes the American, who also dominated this year’s tournament in San Diego, as saying.

Jiri Lehecka had a rather successful tennis year. The twenty-one-year-old player made his first appearance in the elite 100 of the world rankings in February and is currently the number one player on the Czech male white sports scene.

The Next Gen Finals has been held annually since the 2017 season, with only the 2020 event being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the past, Chong Hyun of South Korea, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, Jannik Sinner of Italy and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain have all claimed the title. Brandon Nakashima is therefore the first champion from the USA.

Source: ATP, Tennis Portal, Eurosport 2