Jiří Lehečka
Lehečka at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters
Country (sports) Czech Republic
ResidenceKněžmost, Czech Republic
Born (2001-11-08) 8 November 2001
Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro2020
PlaysRight-handed
CoachMichal Navrátil
Prize money$2,642,860
Singles
Career record51–49 (51.0% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 29 (28 August 2023)
Current rankingNo. 31 (6 November 2023)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (2023)
French Open2R (2023)
Wimbledon4R (2023)
US Open1R (2022, 2023)
Doubles
Career record6–12 (33.3% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 149 (11 September 2023)
Current rankingNo. 149 (6 November 2023)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (2023)
US Open1R (2022)
Team competitions
Davis Cup0–2
Last updated on: 8 November 2023.

Jiří Lehečka (born 8 November 2001) is a Czech professional tennis player. Lehečka has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 29 achieved on 28 August 2023. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 149 achieved on 11 September 2023. He is currently the No. 1 Czech player in men's singles.[1] Lehečka has a career high ITF junior combined ranking of No. 10 achieved on 11 March 2019.

Early life

Jiří Lehečka is the son of two athletes. His father was a swimmer, and his mother was a track and field star. He has long enjoyed skiing, cycling and swimming and remembers first touching a tennis racquet at three. His grandmother, who competed on a national level, taught his older sister the game, so naturally he wanted to play. When Lehečka was young, he admired Tomáš Berdych and Radek Štěpánek.[2]

Professional career

2021: Two singles & three doubles Challenger titles, Singles top 150, Doubles top 250

Lehečka won two ATP Challenger singles titles, one ATP Challenger doubles title with Vít Kopřiva and two with Zdeněk Kolář.

2022: Major & Masters debuts, first match win & semifinal on ATP debut, Top 60

Lehečka qualified for the main draw of the 2022 Australian Open, defeating Michael Mmoh, Max Purcell, and Dmitry Popko.[3] He lost in the first round to the 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov in four sets.

At the 2022 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, he reached the second round as a qualifier, with a stunning upset over fifth seed Denis Shapovalov in straight sets in his first ATP Tour main-draw match.[4] He went on to defeat Botic van de Zandschulp and Lorenzo Musetti to reach the semifinals on his ATP debut, where he was defeated in three sets by top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. He became the lowest-ranked Rotterdam semifinalist since then-World No. 225 Omar Camporese in 1995. As a result, he moved 42 positions up into the top 100 in the rankings at World No. 95 on 14 February 2022.[5]

At the 2022 Serbia Open he qualified into the main draw but lost in the second round to second seed, World No. 8 and eventual champion Andrey Rublev.

At the 2022 BMW Open he qualified into the main draw again defeating Alejandro Tabilo 6–4, 7–6(7–3) in the final round of qualifying.[6] He lost to wildcard and eventual champion Holger Rune in the first round.

He made his debut at the 2022 French Open and the 2022 Wimbledon Championships where he lost in the first round in both.

At the 2022 Generali Open Kitzbühel he reached the quarterfinals defeating Thiago Monteiro[7] and eight seed João Sousa[8] before losing to third seed Roberto Bautista Agut in a tight three-set match.

He made his debut at the 2022 US Open, completing all Major debuts in one season, where he lost to Cristian Garín.[9]

He qualified for the 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals[10] and reached the semifinals defeating Matteo Arnaldi.[11] He defeated Dominic Stricker in the semifinal but lost to Brandon Nakashima in the final in straight sets.

2023: United Cup, Major quarterfinal, first top-10 and Masters wins & third round, maiden ATP final, top 30

Lehečka began his season as the top-ranked Czech male player at the inaugural 2023 United Cup where he lost to Taylor Fritz 3–6, 4–6 but defeated Alexander Zverev 6–4, 6–2 in Zverev's first ATP match coming back from injury. Lehečka also played mixed doubles with Marie Bouzková.

He reached the 2023 Australian Open fourth round defeating eleventh seed Cameron Norrie taking his revenge after he was beaten by Norrie at the 2023 Auckland Open the previous week.[12][13] Next he defeated sixth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime, his first top-10 win, to reach a Major quarterfinal for the first time in his career.[14] As a result, he moved more than 30 positions up into the top 40 at world No. 39 on 30 January 2023.[15] At the same tournament he also reached the third round in doubles on his debut at the event at this Major with partner Alex Molčan.

At the 2023 Qatar ExxonMobil Open he recorded his first top-5 win over top seed Andrey Rublev to reach the semifinals,[16] having previously defeated qualifier Damir Džumhur and Emil Ruusuvuori. In Dubai he lost to seventh seed Alexander Zverev.[17]

At the 2023 BNP Paribas Open he recorded his first Masters win against Arthur Rinderknech. At the 2023 Miami Open he defeated Federico Coria for his second Masters win,[18] and 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti to reach the third round of a Masters for the first time in his career.[19][20] In Monte Carlo he defeated Emil Ruusuvuori and Grigor Dimitrov to move to the round of 16.

At the 2023 Wimbledon Championships he reached the fourth round for the first time at this Major with wins over Sebastian Ofner, 18th seed Francisco Cerúndolo and 16th seed Tommy Paul in a five set match.[21]

He entered the 2023 Croatia Open Umag as the top seed at a tour-level event for the first time, and reached the quarterfinals with a win over Dominic Thiem.[22] He also reached the quarterfinals in doubles with partner Roman Jebavý.

He reached his first ATP final at the 2023 Winston-Salem Open where he lost to Sebastián Báez.[23] As a result, he reached the top 30 in the rankings at world No. 29 on 28 August 2023.[24]

2024: Second ATP final

Lehecka reached his second final at the 2024 Adelaide International defeating third seed Sebastian Korda.[25]

National representation

Lehečka represents the Czech Republic at the Davis Cup, where he has a W/L record of 0–2.[26] He made his debut at the 2019 Davis Cup qualifying round against Robin Haase of the Netherlands.

Performance Timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Current through the 2024 Adelaide International

Tournament 20212022 2023 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 1R QF 0 / 2 4–2 67%
French Open A 1R 2R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Wimbledon A 1R 4R 0 / 2 3–2 60%
US Open Q3 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–4 8–4 0 / 8 8–8 50%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Miami Open A A 3R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Monte-Carlo Masters A 1R 3R 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Madrid Open A A 2R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Italian Open A A 2R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Canadian Open A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Cincinnati Open A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Shanghai Masters NH 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Paris Masters A Q2 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Year-end ranking 141 81 31

ATP finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 2023 Winston-Salem, USA 250 Series Hard Argentina Sebastián Báez 4–6, 3–6
Win 1–1 Jan 2024 Adelaide International, Australia 250 Series Hard United Kingdom Jack Draper 4–6, 6–4, 6–3

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–1)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jun 2023 Queen's Club Championships, United Kingdom 500 Series Grass United States Taylor Fritz Croatia Ivan Dodig
United States Austin Krajicek
4–6, 7–6(7–5), [3–10]

ATP Next Generation finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result    Date    Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss Nov 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals, Italy Hard (i) United States Brandon Nakashima 3–4(5–7), 3–4(6–8), 2–4

Record against other players

Record against Top 10 players

Lehečka's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only ATP Tour main draw matches are considered:

Player Record Win % Hard Clay Grass Last Match
Number 1 ranked players
Spain Carlos Alcaraz 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (2–6, 3–6) at 2023 London
Russia Daniil Medvedev 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (4–6, 2–6, ret.) at 2023 Wimbledon
United Kingdom Andy Murray 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (0–6, 6–3, 6–7(6–8)) at 2023 Doha
Number 2 ranked players
Germany Alexander Zverev 1–1 50% 1–1 Lost (6–4, 3–6, 4–6) at 2023 Dubai
Norway Casper Ruud 0–2 0% 0–1 0–1 Lost (6–7(6–8), 4–6) at 2023 Toronto
Number 3 ranked players
Austria Dominic Thiem 1–0 100% 1–0 Won (6–3, 7–5) at 2023 Umag
Bulgaria Grigor Dimitrov 2–1 67% 1–1 1–0 Won (7–6(7–4), 6–4) at 2023 Monte Carlo
Greece Stefanos Tsitsipas 0–2 0% 0–2 Lost (3–6, 6–7(2–7), 4–6) at 2023 Australian Open
Number 4 ranked players
Denmark Holger Rune 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (6–7(4–7), 3–6) at 2022 Munich
Number 5 ranked players
Russia Andrey Rublev 1–2 33% 1–1 0–1 Lost (4–6, 2–6) at 2023 Indian Wells
United States Taylor Fritz 0–3 0% 0–2 0–1 Lost (6–7(14–16), 2–6) at 2023 Cincinnati
Number 6 ranked players
Canada Félix Auger-Aliassime 1–0 100% 1–0 Won (4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–3)) at 2023 Australian Open
France Gaël Monfils 1–0 100% 1–0 Won (6–4, 6–3) at 2023 Banja Luka
Number 7 ranked players
Belgium David Goffin 0–2 0% 0–2 Lost (4–6, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6) at 2022 French Open
Number 8 ranked players
United Kingdom Cameron Norrie 1–2 33% 1–2 Won (6–7(8–10), 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4) at 2023 Australian Open
Argentina Diego Schwartzman 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (4–6, 6–3, 2–6) at 2023 Shanghai
Russia Karen Khachanov 0–2 0% 0–2 Lost (3–6, 1–6) at 2023 Vienna
Number 9 ranked players
Spain Roberto Bautista Agut 0–2 0% 0–1 0–1 Lost (4–6, 2–6) at 2023 Paris
Number 10 ranked players
Canada Denis Shapovalov 1–0 100% 1–0 Won (6–4, 6–4) at 2022 Rotterdam
United States Frances Tiafoe 0–1 0% 0–1 Lost (6–7(2–7), 4–6) at 2023 Stuttgart
Total 9–25 26.47% 6–15
(29%)
3–7
(30%)
0–3
(0%)
* Statistics correct as of 31 October 2023.

Record against players ranked 11-20

* As of 19 June 2023

Top 10 wins

  • Lehečka has a 2–9 (18.2%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Season 2020 2021 2022 2023 Total
Wins00022
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score JLR
2023
1. Canada Félix Auger-Aliassime 7 Australian Open, Australia Hard 4R 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–2) 7–6(7–3) 71
2. Russia Andrey Rublev 5 Qatar Open, Qatar Hard QF 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 52
:* As of 24 February 2023

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour Finals

Singles: 13 (6–7)

Legend
ATP Challenger (3–3)
ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour Finals (3–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–4)
Clay (5–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Nov 2018 Czech Republic F11, Říčany Futures Hard Czech Republic Tomáš Macháč walkover
Loss 0–2 May 2019 M25+H Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic World Tennis Tour Clay Czech Republic Patrik Rikl 6–7(3–7), 3–6
Win 1–2 Sep 2020 M25 Prague, Czech Republic World Tennis Tour Clay Argentina Sebastián Báez 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1–3 Nov 2020 M15 Heraklion, Greece World Tennis Tour Hard Bulgaria Adrian Andreev 3–6, 4–6
Win 2–3 Feb 2021 M15 Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt World Tennis Tour Hard Poland Paweł Ciaś 6–1, 6–3
Loss 2–4 Apr 2021 M25 Biel, Switzerland World Tennis Tour Hard Netherlands Tim van Rijthoven 2–6, 2–6
Win 3–4 May 2021 M25 Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic World Tennis Tour Clay Ukraine Vitaliy Sachko 6–2, 6–2
Win 4–4 Jul 2021 Tampere, Finland Challenger Clay Argentina Nicolás Kicker 5–7, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 4–5 Jul 2021 Poznań, Poland Challenger Clay Spain Bernabé Zapata Miralles 3–6, 2–6
Win 5–5 Sep 2021 Bucharest, Romania Challenger Clay Slovakia Filip Horanský 6–3, 6–2
Loss 5–6 Nov 2021 Pau, France Challenger Hard (i) Moldova Radu Albot 2–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 5–7 May 2022 Mauthausen, Austria Challenger Clay Austria Jurij Rodionov 4–6, 4–6
Win 6–7 Aug 2022 Liberec, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Spain Nicolás Álvarez Varona 6–4, 6–4

Doubles: 6 (4–2)

Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (3–1)
ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour (1–1)
Titles by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (3–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Nov 2018 Czech Republic F11, Říčany Futures Hard Czech Republic Jiří Barnat Czech Republic Jiří Jeníček
Czech Republic Vojtěch Vlkovský
4–6, 5–7
Loss 0–2 Jun 2019 Prostějov, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Czech Republic Jiří Veselý Austria Philipp Oswald
Slovakia Filip Polášek
4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win 1–2 Apr 2021 M25 Meerbusch, Germany World Tennis Tour Clay Czech Republic Michael Vrbenský Norway Viktor Durasovic
Sweden Markus Eriksson
6–3, 6–3
Win 2–2 Jun 2021 Milan, Italy Challenger Clay Czech Republic Vít Kopřiva Germany Dustin Brown
Austria Tristan-Samuel Weissborn
6–4, 6–0
Win 3–2 Jul 2021 Poznań, Poland Challenger Clay Czech Republic Zdeněk Kolář Poland Karol Drzewiecki
Australia Aleksandar Vukic
6–4, 3–6, [10–5]
Win 4–2 Nov 2021 Bergamo, Italy Challenger Hard (i) Czech Republic Zdeněk Kolář United Kingdom Lloyd Glasspool
Finland Harri Heliövaara
6–4, 6–4

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Win 2019 Wimbledon Grass Czech Republic Jonáš Forejtek Canada Liam Draxl
United States Govind Nanda
7–5, 6–4

Davis Cup

Participations: (0–2)

Group membership
World Group (0–0)
Qualifying Round (0–1)
WG Play-off (0–0)
Group I (0–1)
Group II (0–0)
Group III (0–0)
Group IV (0–0)
Matches by surface
Hard (0–2)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Matches by type
Singles (0–1)
Doubles (0–1)
Rubber outcome No. Rubber Match type (partner if any) Opponent nation Opponent player(s) Score
Decrease1–3; 1-2 February 2019; Ostravar Aréna, Ostrava, Czech Republic; Davis Cup qualifying round; hard (i) surface
Defeat 1 IV Singles Netherlands Netherlands Robin Haase 4–6, 6–2, 3–6
Increase3–2; 14–15 September 2019; Arena Zenica, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Europe/Africa Zone Group I first round; hard (i) surface
Defeat 2 III Doubles (with Jiří Veselý) Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirza Bašić / Tomislav Brkić 6–7(2–7), 3–6

References

  1. "Rankings | Singles".
  2. "Jiří Lehečka: 'Tennis Was the Only Option for Me'".
  3. "Australian Open: Povedlo se! Lehečka a Macháč se kvalifikovali do hlavní soutěže". Tenisový svět.
  4. "Rublev Wins Rotterdam Opener; Lehecka Stuns Shapo". 8 February 2022.
  5. "Jiří Lehečka's Dream Run Continues, Reaches First SF in Rotterdam". ATP Tour.
  6. "Lehecka Qualifies for BMW Open Main Draw". 24 April 2022.
  7. "Jiri Lehecka Holds Firm for Generali Open Kitzbühel Debut Win".
  8. "Dominic Thiem Battles into Kitzbühel Quarter-finals".
  9. "Jiri Lehecka Recognizes Importance of ATP Challenger Tour".
  10. "Jiri Lehecka Raring to Go in Milan Following 2021 Heartbreak | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  11. "Jiri Lehecka Sinks Arnaldi, Reaches Milan SFS | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  12. "Norrie knocked out of Australian Open by Lehecka". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  13. "The Moment That Changed Everything for Jiří Lehečka". ATP Tour.
  14. "Lehecka Upsets Auger-Aliassime to Extend Dream Australian Open Run". ATP Tour.
  15. "Ranking Reaction: Novak Djokovic returns to No. 1 after winning 10th Australian Open title".
  16. "Lehecka Upsets Rublev for Maiden Top 5 Win, Faces Murray in Doha SFS | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  17. "Tomáš Berdych on Jiří Lehečka: 'He Has a Bright Future' | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  18. "Jiří Lehečka Defeats Federico Coria in Miami Opener". ATP Tour.
  19. "Lehecka Beats Musetti to Reach Third round in Miami". ATP Tour.
  20. "No Spicy Food & Dream Dinner with Michael Jordan: Meet Jiří Lehečka". ATP Tour.
  21. @atptour (July 8, 2023). "Rollercoaster match!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  22. "Lehecka Sinks Thiem in Umag | ATP Tour | Tennis". Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  23. "Sebastián Báez Wins Winston-Salem Crown For Second Consecutive Title | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  24. https://www.atptour.com/en/news/lehecka-pepperstone-atp-rankings-28-august-2023
  25. "Jiri Lehecka defeats Sebastian Korda, advances to Adelaide International final".
  26. "Teams Announced for 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers". 22 January 2019.
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