There was element of déjà vu to Jiri Lehecka’s first-round victory on Tuesday at the European Open.
The fifth-seed downed Jaume Munar 6-1, 6-4 to book his second-round spot on his debut at the ATP 250 in Antwerp. It was the second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between Lehecka and Munar in the space of 10 days after the pair’s opening-round clash at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where the Czech also advanced in straight sets.
Jiri moving on 💪@jirilehecka | @EuroTennisOpen | #EuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/AdSK43nOpl
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 15, 2024Lehecka was in control for much of Tuesday’s encounter in Belgium. He converted four of nine break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and his only real struggles came in closing out his victory. Munar saved five match points on serve in the final game before double faulting on the sixth to hand Lehecka the win.
“The first set was about what I let him do, and in the second set he improved so much,” said Lehecka in his on-court interview. “I felt that it would be a difficult challenge for me to win the second set. We saw that he fought until the end. We played last week in Shanghai, and we both knew it would be a tough competition again, so it’s a good win for me and I’m very happy to be in the second round.”
With his 85-minute win, Lehecka rose two spots to No. 31 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Awaiting the Czech in the second round in Antwerp will be Daniel Altmaier or home qualifier Gilles Arnaud Bailly. The 22-year-old, who is now 25-15 for 2024, is chasing his second ATP Tour title of the year after he clinched his maiden tour-level crown in January in Adelaide.
“Since the first day I came here I’ve felt good on this surface,” said Lehecka, when asked how he felt about his triumphant Antwerp debut. “I’ve felt comfortable with the balls and the conditions here in Antwerp. I felt good since the first moment I arrived here. A few good practices gave me important confidence which I used today.”
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