No. 21 seed Jiri Lehecka registered six aces and swept past Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 on Friday to reach the title match of the Miami Open at Miami Gardens, Fla.
The Czech competitor will meet either No. 2 Jannik Sinner or No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Sunday when he plays in a 1000-level final for the first time. It will be his seventh overall championship match and he won two of the previous attempts.
Lehecka, 24, hasn’t lost his service even once while excelling in his five Miami Open matches. He is the first player to reach a 1000 final without being broken since Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in Shanghai in 2018.
“It feels great. It’s definitely something I’ve been working towards the whole year and the whole preseason,” Lehecka said of his strong play. “I really trusted my game and the work I put in. It didn’t matter when, but I knew it would come and today was a nice example of how I want to play. I executed it well, so I’m very happy with today’s performance.”
Lehecka had 16 winners against 14 unforced errors in the 75-minute semifinal victory over No. 28 Fils. He won 27 of 33 first-serve points (81.8%).
Fils had 21 unforced errors against 17 winners.
Lehecka is 0-3 against Sinner and 1-1 versus Zverev. Sinner and Zverev play Friday night in the other semi.
“Of course I’m very excited that I’m in a final. It was definitely one of my goals,” Lehecka said. “… I’m just trying to do what I do best, and I definitely enjoy being on a court like this. So I’m trying to live in the present and we will see how it goes on Sunday.”
–Field Level Media
