The seemingly unstoppable Czech ace, Jiri Lehecka, shocked the tennis world on Sunday, because the unseeded participant toppled the sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in an unbelievable four-set match.
Lehecka battled again from a 4-6 deficit to win 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) and safe his spot within the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
His victory marked the most recent exit of a high-profile participant, leaving the Grand Slam with a notable lack of star energy because it enters its second week.
With holder Rafa Nadal and second seed Casper Ruud going out early, and different title hopefuls corresponding to Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev additionally exiting, a path was clearing for Auger-Aliassime to go deep at Melbourne Park.
But he bumped into an impressed Lehecka, who beat eleventh seed Cameron Norrie within the earlier spherical. The Czech will play both Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jannik Sinner for a spot within the semi-final and he stated he’s simply getting began.
“The run is not over,” Lehecka stated. “All the guys I have beaten here are incredible and I’ve played my best tennis to show all the cards I have to beat them. It sounds crazy, but it’s true and I’m happy to continue the journey.”
Auger-Aliassime, 22, broke within the third sport on the way in which to taking the opening set in 35 minutes however an enormous momentum shift noticed unseeded Lehecka take management.
After profitable the second set to stage the match, a fragile volley on the internet helped Lehecka maintain serve and arrange a third-set tiebreak the place he pounced on 2022 quarter-finalist Auger-Aliassime’s errors to maneuver forward.
With a primary Grand Slam quarterfinal and a primary win over a top-10 participant in sight, the 21-year-old Lehecka went up one other gear within the fourth set tie-break to go up 6-3 earlier than sending Auger-Aliassime out with an outstanding passing shot.
“Honestly it feels amazing,” Lehecka added. “It’s powerful to seek out phrases due to what we have been by means of within the final 12 months and coming again after shedding the primary spherical (in 2022).
“If someone told me I would play like this I would not believe them.”
