WHAT HAPPENED: Jiri Lehecka defied the unorthodox excellence of Adrian Mannarino to earn a maiden US Open quarterfinal spot on Sunday.
The world No. 21 posted 7-6(4), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 onto the scoreboard against the wily French veteran to equal his 2023 Australian Open run at the 2025 US Open.
The Mannarino low, flat shot trajection gives opponents a puzzle tactically and Lehecka had to bide his time in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
At 3-2, the No. 20 seed capped a lung-bursting 28-shot rally with a thunderous inside-out forehand winner. However, Mannarino dissolved a 0-40 deficit with five successive points.
A glorious drop shot, lob, overhead combination was the sequence to propel Lehecka to set point at 5-4. In total, three came and went, Lehecka was startled as Mannarino’s pin-point serving helped the 37-year-old survive.
A tiebreak was required and Mannarino, seeking his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal in his 61st major main draw, raced 4-1 in front.
Lehecka kept probing at the net (finishing the opener with an impressive 19/21 success ratio), with the highlight being a sublime backhand half volley. The 23-year-old clinched six points in succession for a vital set advantage.
The duo exchanged a break apiece until 4-4 when Lehecka’s crouching forehand volley, followed by a crouching backhand volley, unlocked the perfectly timed move to double his lead.
Mannarino is the master of the cat-and-mouse exchanges and stormed 5-0 up in the third set. The Frenchman stood firm in a 21-shot rally, the catalyst for an instant 2-0 break in the fourth. Surely he couldn’t?
The world No. 77 has only completed a comeback from two sets down once in his career at the 2021 US Open across the net from his countryman Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Not today.
Lehecka recalibrated, demonstrating his athleticism to reach a lob volley on the stretch to earn an essential break back.
Mannarino faded, Lehecka leapt up several levels drastically with six consecutive games to fully deserve his Elite 8 chance.
WHAT IT MEANS: When Lehecka is injury free, he dictates play with mechanical measure, he can bludgeon the ball as hard and fast as anyone. The 23-year-old has the touch and finesse of a Top 10 talent in the close quarters.
But his strong start to 2024 was derailed by a vertebral stress fracture. Since his return last August, Lehecka added to his Adelaide (2024) title with a trophy lift in Brisbane (2025). Both titles were on hard courts…
As a result of reaching the quarterfinals in Melbourne (2023) and at Flushing Meadows, Lehecka is the fifth man born in the 2000s to reach the last eight of both hard court majors after Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“It was one hell of a match. Definitely it’s an unbelievable week and a half for me. I’ve been playing very well. I’m super happy,” stated the world No.21, who will make his Top 20 debut after the US Open.
“It was super tough for me. To win this match, against a very experienced player, in front of a packed house is of course very good.”
2022 champion Alcaraz is up next, who Lehecka has already defeated this season 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 back in Doha in February. The world No. 2 gained revenge on the luscious grass of Queen’s Club just prior to Wimbledon, taking the match 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2.
“He's one of the two biggest challenges right now in tennis,” Lehecka told reporters. “He is a great player who has made such big progress in the last few years. He won this tournament already, so definitely he knows how to play here.
“But I must say that I'm very happy that I had a chance to play against him this year already twice. I must say both times it's been a battle… He knows everything. His game is complete. So you need to bring your best.
“For me I will just try to stick to the weapons that I have, to the weapons which worked for me in these last two matchups… I think that the match will be great, and I can't wait for it.”
MATCH POINT: Six years ago, Lehecka participated in the 2019 US Open boys’ singles quarterfinal, falling to eventual runner-up Emilio Nava. Will it be a different tale this time?
Away from the Grand Slam gauntlet, Lehecka takes out the clubs.
“Actually, I enjoying playing golf, I’ve started in the last year. Here in the USA, there are plenty of places to go golf. It’s just something to switch off my mind.”
