Lehecka shuts down Giron’s surge, books last spot in Antwerp
Czech will meet resurgent Bautista Agut in championship match
October 19, 2024
BelgaImage
Jiri Lehecka set to face Roberto Bautista agut within the European Open last.
By ATP Workers
Confronted with a dialled-in opponent and with a last spot on the road, Jiri Lehecka opted for all-out assault on Saturday evening on the European Open.
The fifth-seeded Czech was rewarded for his braveness with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 semi-final triumph in opposition to Marcos Giron on the indoor hard-court ATP 250. Lehecka responded emphatically to a mid-match surge from Giron by breaking the American’s serve twice within the deciding set en path to a one-hour, 57-minute victory.
“All the perfect to Marcos, he performed unbelievable tennis, particularly within the second set,” stated Lehecka in his on-court interview. “Just a few occasions I used to be speechless with what he was capable of produce, so I’m very pleased with the win, so pleased to be by and as we speak it was a hard-fought battle.
“After the second set, once I thought I wasn’t enjoying unhealthy however he was simply enjoying unbelievable from the again of the baseline, I knew I had to make use of each probability I needed to push ahead and to be aggressive. His second serve was the one probability I needed to do it, so I attempted to make use of that and it labored properly.”
Lehecka transformed three of six break factors he earned in opposition to Giron, in response to Infosys ATP Stats, to ebook his spot in his third tour-level championship match. The Adelaide champion is the primary Czech to succeed in an indoor ATP Tour last since his former coach Tomas Berdych received the Stockholm title in 2015.
A well-recognized face will await Lehecka in Sunday’s last: Roberto Bautista Agut. The Spaniard earlier eased previous Hugo Gaston 6-3, 6-4 to succeed in is twenty third tour-level title match, and his first since he reached a last in Adelaide in January 2023. Bautista Agut notched a break in every set to halt the impressed run of Gaston, who had downed second seed Alex de Minaur within the quarter-finals.
“My final last was in Adelaide final yr and it means so much to me to be in [another] last,” stated Bautista Agut, who has risen 12 spots to No. 48 within the PIF ATP Dwell Rankings because of his run in Belgium to this point. “I’ve been working very laborious after the damage and to get pleasure from on the courtroom, like I’ve this week. It’s why I really like tennis and why I maintain practising very laborious. I’m very pleased.”
The Spaniard will step on courtroom in opposition to Lehecka with a 3-1 lead within the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head sequence. The pair has break up two conferences up to now six weeks, with Bautista Agut beating Lehecka at September’s Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, and Lehecka later prevailing in a second-round conflict in Beijing.