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Lehecka Sinks Thiem In Umag
Top seed at a tour-level event for the first time, Jiri Lehecka coped with the pressure on Thursday when he defeated former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-5 at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.
The Czech won 82 per cent (31/38) of his first-serve points in his maiden meeting against Thiem, and rallied from a break down in the second set to advance after one hour and 41 minutes.
The 21-year-old, who is making his debut in Umag, will next play seventh seed Matteo Arnaldi in the quarter-finals. Lehecka and Arnaldi both competed at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, where the Czech defeated the Italian en route to the final.
[ATP APP]
Lehecka has used that result as a springboard this season, highlighted by his run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and fourth round at Wimbledon. The World No. 33’s best result on clay prior to this week was a third-round appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte-Carlo.
Lehecka is seeking his maiden tour-level title this week at the ATP 250 clay-court event.
The 2015 Umag champion Thiem was aiming to reach his third tour-level quarter-final of the season. The Austrian leaves Croatia 9-17 on the season.
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