Jiri Lehecka earned a stunning upset victory against former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday evening in the second round of the Cincinnati Open.
Medvedev, the 2019 champion, arrived in Ohio hungry for matches and an uptick in form after an opening-round exit in Montreal. But instead Lehecka, who prior to Cincinnati had not played since Madrid due to a back injury, emerged victorious 7-6(2), 6-4.
“It's amazing to be back, to be honest,” Lehecka said in his on-court interview. “It was a long time since I was playing on a big stage, so I enjoyed every moment of it today. To get a win again such a good player, talented player as Daniil surely is, is just a bonus for me.”
🚨 UPSET ALERT 🚨@jirilehecka put on a show for the Cincy crowd with a 7-6(2) 6-4 victory over Medvedev.@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/UcsNlau1yt
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 15, 2024The runner-up at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF went more than two months without touching a tennis racquet. On 7 July, he returned to court. And just more than a month later, he has earned one of the best wins of his career.
Medvedev, who fell to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Montreal, landed just 44 per cent of his first serves according to Infosys ATP Stats and he hit seven double faults, including a critical one when facing break point at 3-3 in the second set. When he missed his second serve, the crowd fell silent.
Lehecka played fearless tennis, hitting 17 forehand winners to take advantage of his opportunities. This year’s Adelaide champion wrote a fitting message on the camera following the match: “I am back!”
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Lehecka, who is now 5-14 against Top 10 opponents, will next play home favourite Frances Tiafoe. The American ousted in-form Italian 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-2.
“Served really well today. I was the aggressor, I was playing pretty deep, great depth,” Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. “But the thing is I just tried to get on him early. He’s been playing on a bunch of different surfaces, he’s played a lot of tennis lately. I know obviously he’s trying to get to his best at the US Open, but I thought I had to come out really hot and play as fast as I can. I came forward a lot today and I think really disrupted him.”
Tiafoe faced a tough challenge against the Paris Olympics bronze medalist, and he rose to the occasion. The World No. 27 did not face a break point to advance after 68 minutes.
“I know he just came from the Olympics, so those are the kind of matchups you want,” Tiafoe said. “I’ve been on the hard courts since Atlanta, only been playing better each and every week. I thought that was the biggest difference today.”
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