Lehecka praises Berdych influence: “He knows what the player wants, he knows how he feels”

At just 22 years of age, Jiri Lehecka has already achieved some major milestones in his career. His greatest so far remains a Grand Slam quarter-final, achieved at the Australian Open in 2023 after wins over Cameron Norrie and Félix Auger-Aliassime.

The Czech player, who also reached the last 16 at Wimbledon last year, made a breakthrough in the rankings thanks to his good results in 2023. Ranked 81st in the world at the start of last season, he broke into the Top 30 at the end of the summer.

Jiri Lehecka confirmed his position at the start of 2024 by winning the first title of his career in Adelaide. In doing so, he achieved his highest ranking ever, rising to world No 23. On Tuesday, he qualified for the first Masters 1000 quarter-final of his career by outclassing Stefanos Tsitsipas in Indian Wells (6-2, 6-4), after dominating Andrey Rublev in the previous round (6-4, 6-4).

Berdych an important factor in Lehecka rise

Lehecka can rely on the experience of his compatriot Tomas Berdych to help him continue to grow. Berdych, a Grand Slam finalist (Wimbledon 2010), world No. 4 in 2015 and winner of 13 ATP Tour titles including a Masters 1000, has been advising Lehecka since the Monte Carlo tournament in 2023.

ON THE COURT, HE’S VERY FREE. HE DOESN’T TAKE THINGS TOO SERIOUSLY. HE KNOWS THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT IS THE MATCH.

The 22-year-old, coached by Michal Navratil, is delighted to be able to take advantage of Berdych’s experience to progress and meet the demands of the highest level, as he told a press conference after his victory over Tsitsipas.

“He knows what the player wants, he knows what the player feels. On the court, he’s very free. He doesn’t take things too seriously. He knows that the most important moment is the match, on the court. Not off it. There can, of course, be a great deal of professionalism, even off the court, but we focus mainly on doing the right things during the match and in training.”

“All the advice he gave me was related to working more with my legs, moving forward and back, you know, during points. So we worked on that and we talked about those things mainly at the beginning of the week, at the beginning of the tournament, when we had a bit of time to prepare.”

“We’ve had time to train more, to spend more time on the court. He told me what the conditions are like when it’s dark, what the conditions are like when it’s sunny, for example. Yes, and then of course we talk about the opponents. So yes, we’ve done a lot of work over the last few days.”

Lehecka now has a mountain to climb. He will face Jannik Sinner, unbeaten in 2024, in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters 1000.

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