Jiri Lehecka says his clash with Jannik Sinner in the final of the Miami Masters helped him assess his current level against the best players in the world.
The Czech 24-year-old broke new territory at the event to reach the biggest final of his career so far. Lehecka scored wins over Taylor Fritz and Arthur Fils before falling 6-4, 6-4, to Sinner on Sunday. As a result of his run, he has risen to a career-high of No.14 in the ATP rankings. He is currently the only player from his country in the top 20.
Lehecka’s latest match was the ninth time he has played a top-three player on the Tour. Only once has he won one of those matches, which was against Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Doha Open.
Both Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated men’s tennis in recent years, with the duo winning the past nine Grand Slam events between them. Furthermore, for almost two years, every time they both play at the same event, it ends with one of them winning the title.
“It’s not the first time in tennis when we can see this happening,” Lehecka said of the two highest-ranked players in men’s tennis.
“I think that it’s great. I think it’s very good for the sport and it’s also very good for the rest of the Tour because it shows us (players) the limits and it shows us that we really need to improve.”
Against Sinner in Miami, Lehecka illustrated his potential and failed to capitalise on a golden opportunity early on. In the fourth game, he had a 40-0 lead against the Sinner Serve but then lost five points in a row. This occurred just after he was broken for the first time in the match. Overall, he produced 28 unforced errors compared to 16 winners.
“I think that these matches against these guys are showing me that there is still big room for improvement,” he admits.
“I played, in my opinion, a very good tournament. I was very satisfied with my game.
“But I again saw that there is still somewhere to go, and that I will really need to keep improving more and more if I want to be able to beat these guys in the final stages of these big events like the Masters and Grand Slams.”
Lehecka’s task will be trying to maintain his momentum heading into the clay swing, which is a surface on which he has yet to play an ATP final on. Although he is a former semi-finalist at the Madrid Masters. His best run at the French Open occurred last year when he made it through to the third round.
“The transition to clay, it’s never easy,” he admits.
“I think that my work on the Monte-Carlo clay will be easier for me with the confidence that I bring with myself.
“There is no better place to start the year on clay than Monte-Carlo. That place is amazing, and I like to be there all the time when I can.”
Lehecka is the eighth Czech man to play in a Masters 1000 final since the format was introduced in 1990.
