Miami (AFP) – Czech Jiri Lehecka dominated France’s Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 on Friday to reach the men’s final at the ATP and WTA Miami Open. Fils, the 28th seed, had not dropped his serve in the tournament but was broken four times by 21st-seeded Lehecka, who advanced after 75 minutes at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.
“It feels great. It’s definitely something I’ve been working towards the whole year and the whole pre-season,” Lehecka said. “I really trusted my game and the work I put in. It didn’t matter when, but I knew it would come and today was a nice example of how I want to play. I executed it well so I’m very happy with today’s performance.”
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Lehecka will play in Sunday’s championship match against the winner of a later semi-final between world number two Jannik Sinner of Italy and fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev of Germany. Sinner is trying to become the first man to complete the “Sunshine Double” by winning titles at Indian Wells and Miami since Roger Federer in 2017. Also attempting to complete the “Sunshine Double” is world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who plays in Saturday’s WTA final against fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff.
Lehecka didn’t face a break point and broke Fils for the first time in the tournament in the opening game of the match when the Frenchman netted a forehand. He broke Fils again for a 5-2 lead on a netted Fils backhand. Lehecka broke Fils early in the second set and again on a backhand cross court service return winner for a 5-2 lead, then held serve for the triumph, leveling his career mark against Fils at 2-2.
– Career-high ranking –
The Czech is assured of a career-high ranking next week. His best spot has been 16th but he is assured of jumping eight places to 14th in the rankings and with a title would leap to 12th. Lehecka, 24, seeks his third ATP title after Adelaide in 2024 and Brisbane in 2025. It’s the eighth career final for the Czech but his first at the elite Masters 1000 level.
“I’m very excited that I’m in a final. It was definitely one of my goals,” Lehecka said. “I’m just trying to do what I do best, and I definitely enjoy being on a court like this. So I’m trying to live in the present and we will see how it goes on Sunday.”
Fils injured his back at last year’s French Open and returned only last month, when he was a runner-up at Doha and beat Lehecka in a quarter-final. It was the first Masters 1000-level semi-final for Fils and just the second for Lehecka after 2024 at Madrid, when he retired due to a back injury that sidelined him for more than three months.
Lehecka is winless in three matches against Sinner without taking a set and 1-1 against Zverev. Sinner hopes to reach the final and continue his streak of 30 consecutive sets won at the Masters 1000 level. Sinner leads the career rivalry with Zverev 7-4 and owns a six-match win streak over Zverev, who last beat the Italian in 2023. Sinner’s run includes a victory over the German two weeks ago in the Indian Wells semifinals.
© 2024 AFP
