Tomáš Macháč put the Czech Republic in the lead on the hard surface in Málaga, defeating Jordan Thompson 6:4, 7:5. After him, however, Lehečka was unsuccessful, as he was unable to compete with Alex de Minaur, the twelfth player in the world, and lost 6:4, 6:7, 5:7. The Australian duo decided the doubles for themselves in one hour and 14 minutes.
Captain Navrátil’s team did not end the nine-year wait to advance to the semifinals in the Davis Cup. The Czechs lost to Australia in the ninth of their ten matches, having succeeded only in 1975. This year they played the knockout phase in the new format, which applies from 2019, for the first time. The Australians continue to cherish the chance to win the 29th title.
Jakub Menšík was originally nominated for the final doubles with Pavlásek. But priority was given to Leheček, who had a two and a half hour long duel with De Minaur. Both Czechs played next to each other in doubles for the first time, on the contrary, their opponents won Wimbledon together last year.
The Australian pair could lean on a strong service game. Lehečka and Pavlásek kept pace with them in the first set until the seventh game, when the opponents won a break and then added the set.
Even in the second set, the Czechs did not manage a single break point. In the eleventh game at 5:5 when Pavláska was serving, Purcell and Ebden got a key break and could celebrate after another successful service game.
The 22-year-old Lehečka entered the match with De Minaur well before and won a break in the fifth game. In the dramatic conclusion, he did not manage to complete the set for a long time. He faced five break points, but avoided all of them and ended the set with the fourth set point.
Editing of the Davis Cup quarterfinal match Jiří Lehečka – Alex de MinaurVideo: sntv
Also in the second set, Lehečka had the upper hand for a long time. After a break in the third game, he raced into the lead and served at 5-4 to end the match. But the conclusion did not work out for him. At first he didn’t even play a fifth on the service and then De Minaur forced a shortened game. The Australian won it 7:2.
The loss of the set also affected Leheček at the beginning of the decisive set, when he immediately lost his serve. Although he equalized in the fourth game, at 3:2, he did not use three break points and did not get another chance. At 5:5, De Minaur struck, took Leheček’s serve and after more than two and a half hours ended the match with a clear game. Lehečka paid, among other things, for 63 unforced errors.
Macháč won over Thompson for the first time and avenged his defeat in the qualifiers of the tournament in Miami this year. The native of Beroun lost serve only once and surpassed the six-year-old Australian in the number of winning balls 26:19.
The 78th ranked player in the world, Macháč, decided to win the first set right in the opening game, when he broke his opponent’s serve and carried the advantage of the break to the end. At 4:3, he averted two break points and got out of the 15:40 deficit. In the tenth game, he erased a 0:30 deficit and took the lead after 48 minutes.
In the second set, both players held serve until the ninth game. At 4:4, Macháč used the fifth break point and served for the victory. But Thompson dramatized the ending. He didn’t allow Macháč to have a match point and after using the third break point, he equalized.
The following two games were decisive. Macháč responded to the lost serve with another break and then brought the match to a winning end on the second attempt. After taking advantage of the first match point, he fell to his knees in joy.
2023-11-22 20:45:00
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