After beginning the 12 months with some top-class shows on exhausting courts, has the time come for Jiri Lehecka to make a breakthrough on the clay?
The #NextGenATP Czech might have executed issues the exhausting approach in his 7-6(6), 6-4 first-round victory towards Thiago Monteiro on the Generali Open in Kitzbühel on Monday, however a dominant serving efficiency finally helped the 20-year-old seal a debut win on the ATP 250 occasion in Austria.
Lehecka let slip a 3-0 lead within the first set and later needed to fend off a Monteiro set level at 5/6 in a close-fought first-set tie-break, however he retained his composure to finish a one-hour, 46-minute win, having fired 10 aces and gained 82 per cent (31/38) of factors behind his first supply.
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The 20-year-old charged to a maiden tour-level semi-final in February as a qualifier on the indoor hard-court ATP 500 occasion in Rotterdam, the place he upset Denis Shapovalov, Botic van de Zandschulp and Lorenzo Musetti. Lehecka, who at present sits sixth within the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan, will hope for a equally deep run in Austria to spice up his possibilities of qualifying for November’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.
Lehecka’s second-round project is a primary ATP Head2Head assembly with Joao Sousa, after the eighth seed brushed previous Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva, 6-1, 7-5. Sousa broke Kopriva’s serve 5 instances in a 90-minute victory, his first tour-level win since Roland Garros in late Could. Sousa has loved success in Kitzbühel earlier than, reaching the ultimate in 2017 earlier than falling to Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Federico Coria prolonged his successful streak towards latest Wimbledon quarter-finalist Cristian Garin to 3 with a 6-4, 7-5 victory. The Argentine dropped simply two video games towards Garin within the pair’s most up-to-date assembly in Rio de Janeiro in February, and Coria was scientific together with his probabilities to prevail as soon as once more in Austria, the place he transformed 4 from eight break level alternatives to clinch the win on match debut.
Coria will subsequent face seventh seed Pedro Martinez or wild card Nicolas Jarry within the second spherical as he chases a fifth tour-level quarter-final look of 2022.
A pair of house wild playing cards loved spectacular begins to their campaigns in Kitzbühel, as each Filip Misolic and Jurij Rodionov accomplished straight-sets first-round wins. Misolic defeated Daniel Dutra da Silva, 6-2, 7-6(6), whereas Rodionov noticed off Argentine qualifier Hernan Casanova 6-4, 6-2.
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