Lehecka Upsets Rublev For Maiden Top 5 Win, Faces Murray In Doha SFs

@qatartennis

Jiri Lehecka earned the biggest win of his career by Pepperstone ATP Ranking Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he upset World No. 5 Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach his second tour-level semi-final.

The 21-year-old Czech entered the clash off the back of straight-set wins against Damir Dzumhur and Emil Ruusuvuori and he demonstrated his confidence levels in a heavy-hitting performance against the top seed.

Lehecka timed the ball cleanly off both wings, causing damage with his flat forehand to hit through a frustrated Rublev. He broke twice, sealing his victory after one hour and 41 minutes to improve to 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Rublev.

The biggest win of his career for @jirilehecka!

8.8 Forehand #ShotQuality featuring;
89% Forehand In
81 mph Avg. speed
2987 rpm Avg. Topspin
12 winners

Forehand #ShotQuality Tour Average = 7.2 https://t.co/p5DdZgGwBI

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) February 23, 2023

"These past two months have been very great for me," Lehecka said in his on-court interview. "I was very looking forward to playing here in Doha on this beautfiul centre court, so I am very happy with the win and looking forward to tomorrow."

The Czech will aim to advance to his first tour-level final when he faces former World No. 1 Andy Murray on Friday. Lehecka, who is up eight spots to No. 44 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam last year.

Lehecka ended his 2022 season in style when he reached the Next Gen ATP Finals title match in Milan. Using that run as a springboard, he has made a fast start to 2023. The 21-year-old now holds an 11-3 record on the year, highlighted by his quarter-final run at the Australian Open, where he earned his first Top 10 win against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

"I have improved everything," Lehecka said when refelcting on his progress. "Mostly my mentality on the court. I gained confidence from Next Gen and now I have learnt how to use it."

Rublev was aiming to continue his impressive record at the ATP 250 hard-court event, having reached the final in 2018 and won the title in 2020.

Another day, another three-set win for Murray. After overcoming Lorenzo Sonego and Alexander Zverev in deciding sets earlier this week, the Scot prevailed in the third set once again when he moved past French qualifier Alexandre Muller 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

"I've been playing a lot of tennis the last few days and [doing that again] wasn't going to give me the best chance to win the match, so I stepped up, started taking a few chances, tried to come to the net when I got the opportunity and managed to turn it around," Murray said.

The former World No. 1 upped his intensity and aggression throughout the two-hour, six-minute clash to earn his fifth tour-level win of the season. With his victory, Murray has reached his first tour-level semi-final since June, when he advanced to the championship match in Stuttgart.

Doha 1/2 Final day...@jirilehecka leading #ShotQuality off the FH & BH@andy_murray with the edge on return@felixtennis serving🚀's

Can JL and FAA keep their #ShotQuality against 2 of the game's greatest 🧱 walls?

Is @DaniilMedwed lurking, ready to go back-to-back 🏆? pic.twitter.com/kmo2mQMFgL

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) February 24, 2023

The 35-year-old, currently No. 61 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, is a two-time champion in Doha, lifting the trophy in 2008 and 2009. He will look to continue the quest for his third title at the ATP 250 event when he plays Lehecka.

“He’s started the year extremely well, had a great run at the Australian Open. He’s one of the best young players on Tour," Murray said when asked about Lehecka.