Jannik Sinner beat Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-3 to reach the semifinal for the second consecutive year at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The world number 3 has extended his winning streak to 19 consecutive matches. He is now 16-0 this season. The streak includes his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and his ATP 500 title in Rotterdam.
Sinner committed 13 unforced errors compared to 35 from Lehecka and broke the Czech player three times.
Sinner converted his fourth break with a forehand passing shot down the line in the third game of the opening set. Lehecka earned a break-back point at 4-3, but Sinner saved it to hold serve for 5-3. Sinner went up 15-40 on Lehecka’s serve in the ninth game. Lehecka saved the first two set points on serve, but Sinner broke on his third opportunity to close out the first set 6-3 after 39 minutes.
Lehecka saved a break point at 1-2 in the second set, but Sinner converted his second chance with a backhand to open up a 4-1 lead. Sinner earned two match points at 5-2 but Lehecka saved them with his first serve to hold serve for 3-5. Sinner served out the win on his fourth match point with his forehand.
“I am very pleased because the situation on court was different. In the morning it was really windy and in the first set it was tough to handle the situation. He is an incredible player and has a huge potential, so I was aware of every point that I made. In the other way I was just happy because I made the semifinals last year and this year I have a chance to play in the semifinals again. It is one of the greatest tournaments that we have in the whole year, so I am really happy and pleased”, said Sinner.
Sinner is currently second in the PIF ATP Live Ranking and would reduce his gap to world number 1 Novak Djokovic to 815 points, if he wins his 13th ATP Tour title.
Sinner will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev in the semifinal.
Lehecka beat Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets and was playing in his first Masters 1000 quarter final.
