Was Friday’s 6-2, 6-2 victory over Arthur Fells in the Miami semifinals one of the best games Jiri Lehecka has ever played?
“Yes, of course,” he said with a confident smile after becoming the fourth Czech player to reach the Miami Masters final and the first player to keep a clean sheet in 1,000 Masters finals since Novak Djokovic in Shanghai in 2018.
It’s hard to argue with the world number 22, who never faced a break point and locked things up from the start, allowing the ambitious Frenchman to finish his final match against Yannick Sinner or Alexander Zverev with relative ease.
Lehka dominated in every aspect and even hit more forehand winners than Fiers, becoming the ninth person born in the 2000s to reach the Masters 1000 final.
He converted four of 10 break points and won 82 percent of his service points to reach a career-high ranking on Monday, rising to No. 14 in the ATP Live Rankings.
“It feels great. It’s definitely something I’ve been working on all year and all preseason,” Lehka said. “I really believe in my game and the work I put in. I knew it was coming and today was a great example of how I want to play.”
Lehka, who was forced to retire after just six games due to a back injury in the only Masters semi-final in Madrid in 2024, needed just 75 minutes to avenge a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Fiers in Doha last month and level the score at 2-2.
Fiers saved all 11 break points in the semifinals but could never find his footing. The Frenchman saved four match points in a dramatic comeback win over Tommy Paul, but was unable to replicate that level on Friday.
