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Lehecka Manages Musetti To Break New Ground In Miami
In the midst of a breakthrough season on the ATP Tour, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday added to his list of first-time achievements for 2023 by taking out 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
The 21-year-old Czech triumphed 6-4, 6-4 inside Hard Rock Stadium to reach the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. Lehecka, who reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at January’s Australian Open, broke Musetti’s serve once in each set for an 80-minute win.
2022: 13 wins
2023: 1️⃣4️⃣ already!@jirilehecka continues his impressive @MiamiOpen debut 6-4, 6-4 over No.18 seed Musetti #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/GxP7KSGAH3
In a meeting of 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals competitors, it was Lehecka who looked the more comfortable with the fast court conditions in Miami. He fired 25 winners and showcased some fine net skills to go with his rasping groundstrokes — Lehecka claimed 76 per cent (29/38) of points in which he moved forward.
Lehecka claimed his maiden win at Masters 1000 level against Arthur Rinderknech in Indian Wells two weeks ago before falling to Andrey Rublev. He climbed four spots to No. 40 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, just three places short of his career high, after dispatching Federico Coria and Musetti in straight sets in Miami.
Lehecka will play 14th seed Karen Khachanov or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round at the second Masters 1000 event of the year.
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