Lehecka upsets Rublev, sets Tsitsipas showdown at Indian Wells

Peter Staples/ATP Tour

Jiri Lehecka earned a statement win Sunday afternoon at Indian Wells.

The big-hitting Czech standout powered past fifth seed Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4 in 73 minutes to reach the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open, the season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event.

“This was our fourth meeting, so we both kind of knew what we should expect. Last year, I beat him once. But last year here in Indian Wells, I lost easily. So that was something I needed to improve,” Lehecka told ATPTour.com. “I was looking back to the match, trying to see what I did wrong. Of course, the thing is that I'm a bit of a different player now.”

Statement made 💯@jirilehecka secures one of the biggest wins of his career, d. Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-4, to make the round of 16 at Indian Wells for the first time.@BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/5CJUyo1FSz

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 11, 2024

Lehecka leveled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2 by hitting 31 winners compared to just eight for Rublev, who almost always dictates play in his matches. One year ago, Lehecka managed just six games against Rublev at the same event.

“I feel more confident and I think that my game also improved. So I knew that I needed to be the one who will hit hard first and that worked well for me today,” Lehecka said. “I tried to focus on my serve, not to give him much freedom. And it worked well.”

According to Infosys ATP Stats, Lehecka won a massive 93 per cent of his first-serve points, losing just two of those points in the match. It tied the biggest win of his career by PIF ATP Ranking (No. 5). He also defeated Rublev last year in Doha and is now 2-7 against Top 5 players.

“I always believed in myself. And I always knew, even my team [knew], that I do really have the game to beat these players. But of course there was still something missing last year,” Lehecka said. “It was my first full year on Tour in terms of being around 30, being Top 50. For the first time in my life, I played all the big tournaments. So we kind of learned from that. We felt that there are still many things to improve. That was one of the things that we worked on.”

After competing in the United Cup to start his year, Lehecka won his first ATP Tour title in Adelaide. Now the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF runner-up will hope to make another splash in the California desert.

“Being here for the second time it's also a big advantage for me [compared to] my first time playing here,” Lehecka said. “I knew what to expect so much easier for me to prepare for these kinds of matches.”

Lehecka will next face 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.