Korda withdrawal gifts Lehecka day off ahead of Winston-Salem Open final

Just hours after defeating France’s Richard Gasquet in a thrilling three-set match, Sebastian Korda announced that he was withdrawing from the tournament, giving Jiri Lehecka a walkover into the Winston-Salem Open final on Sunday.

Korda had rolled his ankle in the third set against Gasquet, before managing to continue and win the set in a tiebreaker.

However, following the match, Korda announced that his ankle “wasn’t getting any better,” with the American being forced to make a “tough but necessary decision” to pull out of the tournament.

The decision by Korda means that Jiri Lehecka gets a day off on Saturday, while top seed Borna Coric and No 6 seed Sebastian Baez fight it out for the remaining spot in the final at Wake Forest Tennis Complex on Sunday.

Jiri Lehecka won against American qualifier Mitchell Krueger (2-6, 6-2, 6-3), German Dominik Koepfer (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) and Australian Max Purcell (7-6 (4), 6-4) in the previous rounds of the Winston-Salem tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, Korda, ranked No 33, defeated Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi (6-2, 6-3), Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, the No 14 seed (7-6 (5), 6-3) and Frenchman Richard Gasquet, the No 12 seed (4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7)).

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