World No. 22 Jiri Lehecka produced an emphatic performance over 28th seed Arthur Fils to become the eighth different Czech Masters 1000 finalist in the series history on Friday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
Off the back of a flawless campaign at the Miami Open presented by Itau, 21st seed Jiri Lehecka reached the biggest final of his career on tour by knocking out Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 in just 75 minutes.
“It feels great. It’s definitely something I’ve been working towards the whole year and the whole pre-season,” he commented courtside.
“I really trusted my game and the work I put in. It didn’t matter when, but I knew it would come, and today was a nice example of how I want to play. I executed it well, so I’m very happy with today’s performance.”
Unbroken, the Czech took Stadium court by storm, courtesy of a world-class performance behind his powerful, clinical serve while remaining sharp on the return.
As a result, he pocketed the first set 6-2, breaking twice his in-form opponent.
With the wind in his sails, the 24-year-old stayed the course, damaging his adversary with precision and consistency, dominant on the forehand wing.
Trailing by a set and a break down, Fils double-faulted twice in a lengthy seventh game, which narrowed his recovery chances substantially.
Visibly frustrated after failing to hold his ground once again, the 21-year-old saw the player coached by Michal Navratil continue on a solid path to victory, closing the set 6-2 and the match with an ace.
All in all, the two-time ATP title holder won 82 percent of the points on his first service and 50 percent on his second serve.
In addition, he hit 16 winners (6 aces) against 14 unforced errors.
In the lead-up to their last four showpiece in Miami, Fils saved all 11 break points he faced.
However, against Lehecka, the explosive French player showed signs of fatigue, lacking speed and intensity within his game.
Previously, the world No. 31 came through a monumental high-caliber two-hour, 47-minute quarterfinal against American Tommy Paul, saving four consecutive match points from 2-6 down in the third set tiebreaker.
A mental and physical effort that took a toll on the resurgent, talented player, on an impressive comeback trail from injury.
Meanwhile, the former world No. 16 has set a meeting with either four-time major champion Jannik Sinner or world No. 4 Alexander Zverev for the title on Sunday.
The long-time rivals will play for the 12th time at the tour level later today in the night session.
Speaking about his upcoming challenge for the crown, he shared, “I’m very excited that I’m in a final. It was definitely one of my goals. At the same time, I know that it is just a sport. There are more important things going on in the world right now, so that’s definitely something I’m trying to remind myself.
"I’m just trying to do what I do best, and I definitely enjoy being on a court like this. So I’m trying to live in the present, and we will see how it goes on Sunday.”