By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, March 12, 202
Jiri Lehecka’s first journey to Tennis Paradise was so profound, he felt himself dwelling “a small fairy story.”
Today, Lehecka is controlling the narrative making Masters magic.
Extra: Grigor Dimitrov on Pure Magnificence
Hanging clear, commanding strikes, Lehecka dismissed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4 charging into his first profession Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Indian Wells.
World No. 32 Lehecka beat Tsitsipas for the primary time in three conferences, snapping the Greek’s 13-match profitable streak towards opponents ranked outdoors the High 20.
What a distinction a yr makes.
Final yr, Lehecka was thrilled simply to be a part of the draw.
This yr, Lehecka has been a human wrecking ball knocking out No. 5 Andrey Rublev, 6-4, 6-4, within the third spherical earlier than topping Tsitsipas in the present day.
Lehecka is the primary Czech to succeed in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal since Tomas Berdych on the 2017 Miami Open and first Czech to succeed in the final eight within the desert since Berdych in 2015.
“For me to return right here, for instance, final yr it was, like, a dream, you recognize, it was my first time enjoying Indian Wells, first time seeing these superb phases, you recognize, superb followers,” Lehecka informed the media in Indian Wells. “So I used to be a bit like, it was, for me, like a small fairy story, I’d say, being right here. I used to be very comfortable that I made it to my first Masters final yr.
“However we felt in the long run of final season that the outcomes on these huge tournaments weren’t what we needed, and that I had some possibilities to go additional within the tournaments, to play higher, and to beat some gamers, however I didn’t accomplish that.”
Enter Berdman.
Tomas Berdych joined Lehecka’s coach, Michal Navratil, in Indian Wells this month and his expertise has helped the Adelaide champion navigate a troublesome draw.
“There may be nonetheless many, there are nonetheless many moments the place I am, like, yeah, what is that this, how do I really feel, what ought to I do, how ought to I react, what sort of pictures ought to I make or what I mustn’t do,” Lehecka mentioned. “And that is one of many the reason why having Tomas right here with me is superb, as a result of he has far more expertise than I’ve, and along with his willingness to share it, it is simply nice for me to have him right here by my aspect and to have some assist even from these sort of guys like him who’ve been by means of this all many occasions, and who is aware of the way it works.”
Although Berdych retired from the Tour by the point Lehecka debuted in 2021, he grew up with coach Navratil and reconnected along with his previous buddy by way of textual content to reward Lehecka’s potential.
“He is aware of my coach, Michal Navratil, very properly. They’ve been collectively, you recognize, they know one another since they had been youngsters, they had been touring collectively in early stage of his profession,” Lehecka mentioned. “They had been greatest associates on tour for a while. In fact, their paths has modified.:”However that was one of many the reason why we received in contact. After my good run on the Australian Open final yr after I was ithe quarterfinals, Tomas texted to Michal, and mentioned, like, similar to that I performed properly, that he appreciated the best way how I performed, after which they only stayed in contact.
“He was in Dubai final yr the place we met, and simply we spoke lots. I simply requested him if he wish to journey with me for a number of tournaments to assist me and to get again on the monitor from this totally different place, and he appreciated that concept. So we agreed.”
The person nicknamed Berdman, recognized for a few of the strongest legs on Tour throughout his enjoying days, has helped Lehecka take flight by emphasizing the bottom recreation. Berdych has inspired Lehecka to make use of his leg energy, each driving by means of his pictures, and to maneuver up into the court docket to acknowledge and assault mid-court balls.
“All the information he gave me had been, like, related with working extra with my legs, working extra ahead and backwards, you recognize, in the course of the factors,” Lehecka mentioned. “So we labored on this, and we spoke about this stuff largely to start with of the week, to start with of the event once we had a while to arrange ourselves. We had a while to observe extra, to spend extra time on the court docket.”
This career-best Masters run has propelled Lehecka to No. 27 within the stay rankings forward of his quarterfinal showdown towards both Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner or US Open semifinalist Ben Shelton.
Picture credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty
