Lehecka returns to grass with clinical Stuttgart opener

Jiri Lehecka wasted little time readjusting to grass-court tennis Monday at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart, where he sealed his spot in the second round.

The eighth seed, competing in his first match on the surface since reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2023, eased past Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-4 at the ATP 250 event. Lehecka, who missed last year’s grass swing due to a back injury, fired 13 aces and dropped just four of 37 first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Silky hands from @jirilehecka 😮‍💨@boss__open | #BossOpen pic.twitter.com/LxKeMwr051

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 9, 2025

Chasing his second title of the season after triumphing in Brisbane in January, Lehecka will next face 2023 Stuttgart finalist Jan-Lennard Struff. The German struck 30 winners en route to defeating Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-4 and claiming his first Top-50 win since last October.

The former No. 21 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Struff missed a championship point in the 2023 final before falling to Frances Tiafoe in a third-set tie-break. Lehecka will take a 1-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead into his second-round clash with Struff.

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Last year’s semi-finalist Brandon Nakashima booked his spot in the second round by rallying past Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 in their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash. The 23-year-old will next face #NextGenATP American Learner Tien or Yoshihito Nishioka.

Big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard hammered down 26 aces in his 7-6(10), 3-6, 7-5 victory over Roman Safiullin to set a second-round meeting with fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Mpetshi Perricard is competing in his first grass-court tournament since reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon on his debut last July.