ATP Tour

Lehecka drives love for grass to 100 wins: 'I call it a real surface'

Some things in life come more naturally, and for Jiri Lehecka, grass-court tennis appears to be one of them.

After missing last year’s grass swing due to a back injury, the Czech star may have approached this season’s return to the surface with uncertainty. But rather than hesitating, Lehecka has silenced any doubts and surged to a significant milestone: his 100th tour-level victory.

“I always like to play on grass, I call it a real surface,” Lehecka told ATPTour.com at the HSBC Championships in London, where he is into the semi-finals. “It’s something you really look forward to the whole year, it’s something special.

“I didn’t know what to expect from myself at the beginning of last week. It was my first match on grass in two years… Adjusting to grass for me is not that hard because it fits my style. I have the game to play on grass, and the surface helps my game be even more effective.”

There has been a quiet confidence around Lehecka’s return to grass this year. After reaching the quarter-finals in Stuttgart last week, he has captured the attention of the west London crowd at Queen’s Club, where he is into the last four without dropping a set.

Armed with blistering groundstrokes off both wings and an explosive first serve, Lehecka’s game translates seamlessly to grass. He first made waves on the surface with a memorable run to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2023 before he was forced to retire against Daniil Medvedev.

Yet even before that, Lehecka’s affinity for SW19 was clear: He captured the boys’ doubles title there with countryman Jonas Forejtek in 2019.

“Wimbledon is a special place for me,” Lehecka said. “It was the first time I had success on grass. We won the junior doubles title there. There were so many firsts that year [2019]. I must say that I didn’t know perfectly how to play on grass, I was just going with the flow.

“It was my first time being at a champions’ dinner as a junior winner… I enjoyed my time so much back then and of course, two years ago I was playing pretty well on grass. It’s always special to come back to Wimbledon to compete, and just to be there at the club.”

Despite being sidelined last year, Lehecka has returned to grass in 2025 with vengeance. He has already matched his win tally of five matches on the surface from his breakout 2023 campaign, establishing himself as a serious threat once more.

Prior to Wimbledon, Lehecka has unfinished business at Queen’s Club, where he is into his third ATP Tour semi-final of the season. Across the net will be British No. 1 Jack Draper, who will aim to channel his home support to a memorable victory.

“It will be a big battle as always,” said Lehecka, who trails Draper 1-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “Jack is a great competitor, he’s having the best season of his life so far. It will be a great challenge and I’m looking forward to it.

“He’s the favourite and he’s on home soil, but at the same time, I know I have the game to give him problems on the court.”

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The two-time ATP Tour champion, Lehecka reached a career-high No. 22 in the PIF ATP Rankings in February after he reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 in Doha. He stunned top seed Carlos Alcaraz that week before falling to Draper, but this week Lehecka is the only semi-finalist to have not dropped a set en route.

“There is no better place to play my first semi-final on grass than here at Queen’s,” said Lehecka. “Over the years I have just felt that my game is stronger on grass and I can use my weapons more. It’s great to be back here at Queen’s, some of the best grass courts in the world.”