US OPEN – Jiří Lehečka (22) advanced to the second round of the US Open for the first time in his fourth start at Flushing Meadows. The top Czech in the ATP rankings lost the opening set, but then dominated against Márton Fucsovics (32), who was indisposed to his health, before the Hungarian opponent gave up on him 6:1, 4:6, 3:6, 0:3. For his third career participation in the third round of the Grand Slams, the native of Mladá Boleslav, who is returning after a long medical break, will compete with domestic qualifier Mitchell Krueger (30).
Fucsovics – Lehečka 6:1, 4:6, 3:6, 0:3 / scratch
Jiří Lehečka has already played at least the second round at all other three Grand Slams, and only the US Open was missing from his complete collection. The best Czech tennis player in the ATP ranking made it to his fourth attempt. While he finished his debut in 2021 already in the qualification and was eliminated in the first round in the last two years, this year he beat Márton Fucsovics and improved his local best.
The favored native of Mladá Boleslav was unable to enter the match at all. In the opening set, he hit just six winning shots, committed 21 unforced errors and played just one game. However, Lehečka began to improve, while the opponent, on the other hand, gradually faded and needed a break to treat his back a few tens of minutes before the end of the match.
Match statistics. (@livesport)
The currently 38th ranked player took advantage of the health condition of the Hungarian opponent. He fended off four break points in the opening game of the second set and took Fucsovics’ serve for the first time in the final game. He was clearly better in the next two sets and the fourth set, in which he led 3:0 with two breaks, was not even finished.
“I’m happy that I won, even though it was after a scratch. Overall, I’m happy that I played the match without pain. I feel good. I’m a little broken physically, but otherwise it was fine. It’s always great to advance to the second round of a Grand Slam “ Lehečka told reporters.
Lehečka is participating in only her second tournament at the US Open after a three-month medical break caused by a fatigue fracture of a vertebra. After a scratch at the beginning of May in the semifinals at the Masters in Madrid, he did not return to the courts until two weeks ago at the 1,000 in Cincinnati, where he beat Daniil Medvedev and was a few balls away from advancing to the quarterfinals.
He is now within reach of his third career appearance among the top thirty-two in Grand Slam ventures. So far, he has looked this far only last year at the Australian Open (quarterfinals) and at Wimbledon (round of 16).
On Wednesday, he will have a chance to improve his personal best again at the final Grand Slam of the season. And he will also have a very playable opponent in the second round, namely domestic qualifier Mitchell Krueger.
The champion of this year’s ATP 250 event in Adelaide is one of the three Czech hopes in the men’s singles at this year’s US Open. His compatriots Tomáš Macháč and Jakub Menšík will enter the tournament only on Tuesday.
US Open men’s singles results
Article originally published for Livesport News.
