Jiri Lehecka in action against Andrey Rublev during their quarter-final match yesterday. Pictures: Salim Matramkot
Czech Jiri Lehecka yesterday toppled top seed Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 for the biggest win of his career which earned him a semi-final clash against former World No.1 Andy Murray at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
Maintaining his fine run in Doha, Murray, a two-time winner of the Golden Falcon trophy, beat French qualifier Alexandre Muller 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to advance at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex.
In the day’s opening last-eight clash, the 21-year-old Lehecka proved he was too good for the Russian World No.5 during their one hour and 41 minute-long match with his heavy-hitting performance as he continued to ride on his impressive form in the Doha tournament.
Lehecka ended his 2022 season in style when he reached the Next Gen ATP Finals title match in Milan and now holds an 11-3 record on the year, He also reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open last month and clinched his maiden top 10 win Down Under.
Great Britain's Andy Murray hits a return to Frenchman Alexandre Muller during their quarter-final match.
“Honestly, these two weeks and these two months are very, very good for me. I’m very happy that I got a chance to play here. I was looking forward to play here in Doha on this beautiful centre court. So yeah, I’m very happy with the win and I am looking forward to tomorrow,” Lehecka, who braces for another big test in his career in former Big Four member Briton Murray, said after the win.
The crowd favourite Murray, meanwhile, had to battle past his third three-setter in a row in the Qatari capital.
“Well, I had to start going for my shots a lot more. You know, the first set, I wasn’t doing enough with the ball and he was dictating a lot of the points, making me do a lot of running. And like you say, I’ve obviously played a lot of tennis the last few days, and that wasn’t going to give me the best chance to win the match. So I stepped up. I started taking a few more chances, trying to come to the net when I got the opportunity and managed to turn it around,” the World No. 70, who is in Doha on a wild card, said after the 124-minute-long match.
Murray said his semi-final opponent Lehecka is one of the best young players in the ATP Tour right now.
Russia's Daniil Medvedev in action against Australia's Christopher O'Connell.
“He started the year extremely well. He had a great run at the Australian Open. One of the best young players on the tour. I’m sure some of you saw his match today. He hits a huge ball from the back of the court. Great ball striker. So yeah, big test for me and hopefully I can, I can put on a good performance,” the 35-year-old who is eying his third title in Doha, following victories in 2008 and 2009, said.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev, meanwhile, outplayed Christopher O’Connell 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in a thrilling one-hour 55-minute match to reach the semis, extending his winning streak to seven.
“At 5-5 in the third, you have a last chance to break him and then serve for the match. I managed to play quite a good game,” Medvedev said. “He missed a few shots that he didn’t miss before. It was an important moment in the match and that made me win today.”
Later, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the second seed, completed the semi-final line-up with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the No 7 seed.
The 22-year-old will meet Medvedev for a place in the title-clash.
