No. 21 seed Jiri Lehecka had eight aces while producing a 7-6 (1), 7-5 victory over Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the Miami Open.
Lehecka won 85.1% of his first-serve points and had 19 winners against 23 unforced errors in the quarterfinal match.
Lehecka, 24, will face either No. 22 Tommy Paul or No. 28 Arthur Fils of France in Friday’s semifinals. Those two men meet Wednesday night.
“Today was super tough,” Lehecka said. “It is never easy to play against an opponent who has nothing to lose. He played incredibly. He played some unbelievable shots in crucial moments. Every time I had a break point he went for it and deserved those points. It was tough for me to handle. We both started to play very well and I was looking for the chance on the return, which finally came in the last game of the match.”
This is just the second time the Czech has reached the semis of a 1000-level event. The other was Madrid in 2024.
Part of Lehecka’s run at this event was an upset of sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz in the fourth round.
“Every match at Masters 1000 level is great and I am very proud of myself being able to fight through these past couple of days,” Lehecka said. “These are good, tough wins and I will do whatever I can do to prepare for the next round.”
Landaluce, 20, saved 9 of 10 break points in a strong effort and nearly forced a third set. He had 20 winners and 26 unforced errors before succumbing in two hours, two minutes.
The other two quarterfinals are Thursday. No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy faces No. 19 Frances Tiafoe, and No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany opposes No. 18 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
–Field Level Media
