Lehecka glad, however sees ‘massive, massive room for enchancment’

Miami

Lehecka glad, however sees ‘massive, massive room for enchancment’

Czech is about for brand new profession excessive following first ATP Masters 1000 closing

March 30, 2026

Jiri Lehecka has so much to be pleased with following his shock run to the ultimate of the Miami Open introduced by Itau. The Czech, who fell brief to Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s title match, was competing in his maiden ATP Masters 1000 closing, an expertise that underlined each his progress and his starvation for extra.

“I believe that these matches like at this time towards these guys are displaying me that there’s nonetheless massive, massive, massive room for enchancment,” Lehecka stated in his post-tournament press convention. “I performed, in my view, an excellent match right here. I used to be very glad with my recreation.

“However at this time I once more noticed that there’s nonetheless someplace to go, and that I’ll actually need to maintain bettering an increasing number of if I need to have the ability to beat these guys within the closing levels of those massive occasions like Masters and Grand Slams.”

Set for a brand new career-high No. 14 in Monday’s PIF ATP Rankings, Lehecka produced a commanding serving efficiency in Miami, going unbroken till the ultimate. He saved 9 break factors throughout three matches and didn’t face a single break level in his two different matches en path to the championship match. Sinner wasted no time, ending Lehecka’s streak within the Czech’s second service recreation.

Nonetheless, the 24-year-old Lehecka is happy along with his standout serving efficiency in south Florida.

“The best way I used to be in a position to preserve my key weapons working by all these matches was one thing that I used to be working in direction of within the final couple of weeks, months,” stated Lehecka. “After all I might love to carry my serve the entire yr, however that is not potential. Jannik performed superb return video games, and I felt throughout the entire match that he is placing an increasing number of strain on me.”

Lehecka fell to 0-4 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head collection with Sinner, however Sunday’s conflict was extra of a contest than their third-round assembly at Roland Garros final yr, when the Italian cruised to a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 victory. That three-set match in Paris took one hour and 34 minutes, only one minute greater than Sinner’s two-set win at Exhausting Rock Stadium.

“I confirmed at this time a greater efficiency than in Paris, so I used to be specializing in not repeating the identical mistake as again then,” Lehecka stated. “Which meant utilizing my first function a weapon and going a bit bit extra to the web.

“Finally yr’s Roland Garros, I felt that these circumstances have been extraordinarily troublesome for my recreation type. We performed below the roof, Court docket Suzanne-Lenglen, tremendous moist circumstances, heavy balls. I felt that he was the one who mainly had all of the weapons at that second. I couldn’t assist myself with the serve. Each time I performed a very good shot again then, he simply had loads of time to counter it by some means.”

Lehecka arrived in Miami with a modest 6-5 season file, in line with the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and now heads into the European clay-court swing buoyed by his newest efficiency.

“I made a closing right here, so I believe that even the work on Monte-Carlo clay shall be simpler for me with that confidence that I carry with myself,” stated Lehecka. “And on the similar time, there is no such thing as a higher place to start out the yr on clay than Monte-Carlo. That place is wonderful and I wish to be there on a regular basis after I can.”