Jiri Lehecka has recorded his first win over a top 10 player on grass after upsetting second seed Jack Draper in the semi-finals of the HSBC Championships on Saturday.
The Czech world No.30 battled past Draper 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, in a roller-coaster match that lasted more than two hours. Lehecka, who missed the entire grass swing in 2024 due to injury, is through to the final of an ATP 500 event for the first time in his career at the age of 23. He is only the second player from his country to reach the final at Queen’s in the Open Era after Ivan Lendl who did so twice.
“It means a lot. You don’t meet a player like Jack every day, he’s an amazing competitor,” Lehecka said during his on-court interview.
“I know you’re favourite didn’t win today but I appreciate you being fair with me.” He added when addressing the crowd.
Lehecka broke in the first game en route to sealing the opening set but was put under pressure throughout the rest of the encounter. In the second frame, he faced six break points but managed to save five of them before getting broken in the very last game of the set. Heading into the decider, the two couldn’t be separated on the court. The deciding factor proved to be a lacklustre Draper service game at 5-5, which handed his rival the chance to serve the match out, which he did, much to the annoyance of the Brit who received a code violation for racket abuse after getting broken.
One of the biggest keys to Lehecka’s victory was his serve. He fired 16 aces and won 77% of his first service points against Draper. In the entire tournament so far, he has produced 38 aces.
“It’s not easy to play that serve but I’ve been working on it for the last few weeks,” Lehecka explained.
“I knew the transition from clay to grass I’d need to use it. I’m happy with it.”
As a result of his latest victory, Lehecka overtakes Stefanos Tsitsipas in the PIF ATP rankings into 25th place. Three places below his career-high ranking. So far this season, he has beaten three top 10 players with his two other victories occurring on hardcourts. They were against Grigor Dimitrov in Brisbane and Carlos Alcaraz in Doha.
Alcaraz could be the player Lehecka faces in Sunday’s final. The world No.2 played compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut later today.
