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Jiří Lehečka

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Jiří Lehečka (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈlɛɦɛtʃka]; born 8 November 2001) is a Czech professional tennis player. Lehečka has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 23 achieved on 15 January 2024. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 144 achieved on 15 January 2024. He is currently the No. 2 Czech player in singles.[1] Lehečka had a career high ITF junior combined ranking of No. 10 achieved on 11 March 2019.

Jiří Lehečka
Lehečka at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters
Country (sports) Czech Republic
ResidenceKněžmost, Czech Republic
Born (2001-11-08) 8 November 2001 (age 23)
Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro2020
PlaysRight-handed
CoachMichal Navrátil
Prize moneyUS $4,155,452
Singles
Career record75–65
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 23 (15 January 2024)
Current rankingNo. 31 (4 November 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (2023)
French Open2R (2023)
Wimbledon4R (2023)
US Open3R (2024)
Doubles
Career record6–16
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 144 (15 January 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (2023)
US Open1R (2022)
Team competitions
Davis Cup0–2
Last updated on: 8 November 2024.

Early life

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Jiří Lehečka was born in a hospital in Mladá Boleslav, but he is a native of Kněžmost.[2]

Lehečka is the son of two athletes. His father was a swimmer, and his mother was a track and field star. He has long enjoyed skiing, cycling and swimming and remembers first touching a tennis racquet at three. His grandmother, who competed on a national level, taught his older sister the game, so naturally he wanted to play. When Lehečka was young, he admired Tomáš Berdych and Radek Štěpánek.[3]

Professional career

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2021: Challenger titles, singles top 150

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Lehečka won two ATP Challenger singles titles, one ATP Challenger doubles title with Vít Kopřiva and two with Zdeněk Kolář.[citation needed]

2022: First ATP win & semifinal, top 60

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Lehečka qualified for the main draw of the 2022 Australian Open, defeating Michael Mmoh, Max Purcell, and Dmitry Popko.[4] He lost in the first round to the 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov in four sets.[citation needed]

At the 2022 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, he reached the second round as a qualifier, with a stunning upset over fifth seed Denis Shapovalov in straight sets in his first ATP Tour main-draw match.[5] He went on to defeat Botic van de Zandschulp and Lorenzo Musetti to reach the semifinals on his ATP debut, where he was defeated in three sets by top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. He became the lowest-ranked Rotterdam semifinalist since then-World No. 225 Omar Camporese in 1995. As a result, he moved 42 positions up into the top 100 in the rankings at World No. 95 on 14 February 2022.[6]

At the 2022 Serbia Open he qualified into the main draw but lost in the second round to second seed, World No. 8 and eventual champion Andrey Rublev.[citation needed]

At the 2022 BMW Open he qualified into the main draw again defeating Alejandro Tabilo 6–4, 7–6(7–3) in the final round of qualifying.[7] He lost to wildcard and eventual champion Holger Rune in the first round.[citation needed]

He made his debut at the 2022 French Open and the 2022 Wimbledon Championships where he lost in the first round in both.[citation needed]

At the 2022 Generali Open Kitzbühel he reached the quarterfinals defeating Thiago Monteiro[8] and eight seed João Sousa[9] before losing to third seed Roberto Bautista Agut in a tight three-set match.[citation needed]

He made his debut at the 2022 US Open, completing all Major debuts in one season, where he lost to Cristian Garín.[10]

He qualified for the 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals[11] and reached the semifinals defeating Matteo Arnaldi.[12] He defeated Dominic Stricker in the semifinal but lost to Brandon Nakashima in the final in straight sets.[citation needed]

2023: First ATP final, top-10 victory, top 30

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Lehečka began his season as the top-ranked Czech male player at the inaugural 2023 United Cup where he lost to Taylor Fritz 3–6, 4–6 but defeated Alexander Zverev 6–4, 6–2 in Zverev's first ATP match coming back from injury. Lehečka also played mixed doubles with Marie Bouzková.[citation needed]

He reached the 2023 Australian Open fourth round defeating eleventh seed Cameron Norrie taking his revenge after he was beaten by Norrie at the 2023 Auckland Open the previous week.[13][14] Next he defeated sixth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime, his first top-10 win, to reach a Major quarterfinal for the first time in his career.[15] As a result, he moved more than 30 positions up into the top 40 at world No. 39 on 30 January 2023.[16] At the same tournament he also reached the third round in doubles on his debut at the event at this Major with partner Alex Molčan.[citation needed]

At the 2023 Qatar ExxonMobil Open he recorded his first top-5 win over top seed Andrey Rublev to reach the semifinals,[17] having previously defeated qualifier Damir Džumhur and Emil Ruusuvuori. In Dubai he lost to seventh seed Alexander Zverev.[18]

At the 2023 BNP Paribas Open he recorded his first Masters win against Arthur Rinderknech. At the 2023 Miami Open he defeated Federico Coria for his second Masters win,[19] and 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti to reach the third round of a Masters for the first time in his career.[20][21] In Monte Carlo he defeated Emil Ruusuvuori and Grigor Dimitrov to move to the round of 16.[citation needed]

At the 2023 Wimbledon Championships he reached the fourth round for the first time at this Major with wins over Sebastian Ofner, 18th seed Francisco Cerúndolo and 16th seed Tommy Paul in a five set match.[22]

He entered the 2023 Croatia Open Umag as the top seed at a tour-level event for the first time, and reached the quarterfinals with a win over Dominic Thiem.[23] He also reached the quarterfinals in doubles with partner Roman Jebavý.[citation needed]

He reached his first ATP final at the 2023 Winston-Salem Open where he lost to Sebastián Báez.[24] As a result, he reached the top 30 in the rankings at world No. 29 on 28 August 2023.[25]

2024: First ATP title and Masters semifinal, top 25

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Lehečka reached his second final at the 2024 Adelaide International defeating third seed Sebastian Korda.[26] He defeated Jack Draper to win his first ATP title.[27][28] As a result he reached the top 25 in the rankings on 15 January 2024.[citation needed]

Seeded 32nd at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open, Lehečka reached the fourth round for the first time at a Masters 1000 defeating Brandon Nakashima[29] and fifth seed Andrey Rublev, his second top five win and second against Rublev.[30] He reached his first career Masters quarterfinal defeating 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.[31] He lost in the last eight to Jannik Sinner.[32]

Ranked No. 31 at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open, he reached his second Masters quarterfinal defeating qualifiers Hamad Medjedovic and Thiago Monteiro, Rafael Nadal in the round of 16, becoming the lowest ranked man to beat the former champion in a clay Masters.[33] Next he defeated third seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals to reach his first career Masters 1000 semifinal.[34] He retired in the first set of the semi-final against Felix Auger-Aliassime due to a back injury.[35]

Lehečka was runner-up at the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium, in October, losing to Roberto Bautista Agut in the final.[36]

National representation

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Lehečka represents the Czech Republic at the Davis Cup, where he has a W/L record of 0–2.[37] He made his debut at the 2019 Davis Cup qualifying round against Robin Haase of the Netherlands.

Performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

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Current through the 2024 European Open.

Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A 1R QF 2R 0 / 3 5–3 63%
French Open A A A 1R 2R A 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Wimbledon A NH A 1R 4R A 0 / 2 3–2 60%
US Open A A Q3 1R 1R 3R 0 / 3 2–3 40%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–4 8–4 3–2 0 / 10 11–10 52%
ATP Masters 1000 tournaments
Indian Wells Open A NH A A 2R QF 0 / 2 4–2 67%
Miami Open A NH A A 3R 2R 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Monte-Carlo Masters A NH A 1R 3R A 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Madrid Open A NH A A 2R SF 0 / 2 4–2 67%
Italian Open A A A A 2R A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Canadian Open A NH A A 2R A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Cincinnati Open A A A A 1R 3R 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Shanghai Masters A NH 1R 3R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Paris Masters A A A Q2 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 6–9 10–5 0 / 15 16–15 52%
Career statistics
Tournaments 0[a] 0 0[a] 16 24 13 Career total: 53
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 1 Career total: 1
Finals 0 0 0 0 1 2 Career total: 3
Overall win–loss 0–1 0–0 0–1 13–19 34–26 28–16 1 / 53 75–63 54%
Year-end ranking 623 351 141 81 31 $4,042,599

ATP Tour finals

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Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

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Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP 500 (0–0)
ATP 250 (1–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–1)
Indoor (0–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 2023 Winston-Salem Open, United States ATP 250 Hard   Sebastián Báez 4–6, 3–6
Win 1–1 Jan 2024 Adelaide International, Australia ATP 250 Hard   Jack Draper 4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1–2 Oct 2024 European Open, Belgium ATP 250 Hard (i)   Roberto Bautista Agut 5–7, 1–6

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

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Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP 500 (0–1)
ATP 250 (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–1)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jun 2023 Queen's Club Championships, United Kingdom ATP 500 Grass   Taylor Fritz   Ivan Dodig
  Austin Krajicek 		4–6, 7–6(7–5), [3–10]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour finals

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Singles: 13 (6 titles, 7 runner-ups)

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Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (3–3)
ITF Futures/WTT (3–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–4)
Clay (5–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Nov 2018 Czech Republic F11, Říčany Futures Hard   Tomáš Macháč walkover
Loss 0–2 May 2019 M25+H Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic WTT Clay   Patrik Rikl 6–7(3–7), 3–6
Win 1–2 Sep 2020 M25 Prague, Czech Republic WTT Clay   Sebastián Báez 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1–3 Nov 2020 M15 Heraklion, Greece WTT Hard   Adrian Andreev 3–6, 4–6
Win 2–3 Feb 2021 M15 Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt WTT Hard   Paweł Ciaś 6–1, 6–3
Loss 2–4 Apr 2021 M25 Biel, Switzerland WTT Hard   Tim van Rijthoven 2–6, 2–6
Win 3–4 May 2021 M25 Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic WTT Clay   Vitaliy Sachko 6–2, 6–2
Win 4–4 Jul 2021 Tampere, Finland Challenger Clay   Nicolás Kicker 5–7, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 4–5 Jul 2021 Poznań, Poland Challenger Clay   Bernabé Zapata Miralles 3–6, 2–6
Win 5–5 Sep 2021 Bucharest, Romania Challenger Clay   Filip Horanský 6–3, 6–2
Loss 5–6 Nov 2021 Pau, France Challenger Hard (i)   Radu Albot 2–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 5–7 May 2022 Mauthausen, Austria Challenger Clay   Jurij Rodionov 4–6, 4–6
Win 6–7 Aug 2022 Liberec, Czech Republic Challenger Clay   Nicolás Álvarez Varona 6–4, 6–4

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

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Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (3–1)
ITF Futures/WTT (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (3–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Nov 2018 Czech Republic F11, Říčany Futures Hard   Jiří Barnat   Jiří Jeníček
  Vojtěch Vlkovský 		4–6, 5–7
Loss 0–2 Jun 2019 Prostějov, Czech Republic Challenger Clay   Jiří Veselý   Philipp Oswald
  Filip Polášek 		4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win 1–2 Apr 2021 M25 Meerbusch, Germany WTT Clay   Michael Vrbenský   Viktor Durasovic
  Markus Eriksson 		6–3, 6–3
Win 2–2 Jun 2021 Milan, Italy Challenger Clay   Vít Kopřiva   Dustin Brown
  Tristan-Samuel Weissborn 		6–4, 6–0
Win 3–2 Jul 2021 Poznań, Poland Challenger Clay   Zdeněk Kolář   Karol Drzewiecki
  Aleksandar Vukic 		6–4, 3–6, [10–5]
Win 4–2 Nov 2021 Bergamo, Italy Challenger Hard (i)   Zdeněk Kolář   Lloyd Glasspool
  Harri Heliövaara 		6–4, 6–4

ATP Next Generation finals

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Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

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Result    Date    Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss Nov 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals, Italy Hard (i)   Brandon Nakashima 3–4(5–7), 3–4(6–8), 2–4

Junior Grand Slam finals

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Doubles: 1 (1 title)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2019 Wimbledon Grass   Jonáš Forejtek   Liam Draxl
  Govind Nanda 		7–5, 6–4

Wins against top 10 players

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  • Lehečka has a 5–14 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Season 2023 2024 Total
Wins 2 3 5
# Player Rk Event Surface Rd Score Rk Ref
2023
1.   Félix Auger-Aliassime 7 Australian Open, Australia Hard 4R 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–3) 71 [38]
2.   Andrey Rublev 5 Qatar Open, Qatar Hard QF 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 52 [39]
2024
3.   Andrey Rublev 5 Indian Wells Open, United States Hard 3R 6–4, 6–4 31 [40]
4.   Daniil Medvedev 4 Madrid Open, Spain Clay QF 6–4, 0–0r 31 [41]
5.   Daniil Medvedev 5 Cincinnati Open, United States Hard 2R 7–6(7–2), 6–4 35
  • Key: (Rk) first use, opponent rank; (Rd) round; (Rk) 2nd use, player rank; (Ref) reference; (F) final; (SF) semifinal; (QF) quarterfinal; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage

Davis Cup

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Participations: (0–2)

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Group membership
World Group (0–0)
Qualifying Round (0–1)
WG Play-off (0–0)
Group I (0–1)
Group II (0–0)
Group III (0–0)
Group IV (0–0)
Matches by surface
Hard (0–2)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Matches by type
Singles (0–1)
Doubles (0–1)
Rubber outcome No. Rubber Match type (partner if any) Opponent nation Opponent player(s) Score
 1–3; 1-2 February 2019; Ostravar Aréna, Ostrava, Czech Republic; Davis Cup qualifying round; hard (i) surface
Defeat 1 IV Singles   Netherlands Robin Haase 4–6, 6–2, 3–6
 3–2; 14–15 September 2019; Arena Zenica, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Europe/Africa Zone Group I first round; hard (i) surface
Defeat 2 III Doubles (with Jiří Veselý)   Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirza Bašić / Tomislav Brkić 6–7(2–7), 3–6

Notes

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  1. ^ a b During the season, he did not play in the main-draw of any ATP Tour-level tournaments. However, he played at the Davis Cup, which is not counted as a played tournament but as matches counted.

References

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  1. ^ "Rankings | Singles".
  2. ^ ""Není to rodák z Boleslavi, ale Kněžmostu," zaznívá hrdě z rodné obce Jiřího Lehečky" (in Czech). PrahaIN. 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  3. ^ "Jiří Lehečka: 'Tennis Was the Only Option for Me'".
  4. ^ "Australian Open: Povedlo se! Lehečka a Macháč se kvalifikovali do hlavní soutěže". Tenisový svět. 21 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Rublev Wins Rotterdam Opener; Lehecka Stuns Shapo". 8 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Jiří Lehečka's Dream Run Continues, Reaches First SF in Rotterdam". ATP Tour.
  7. ^ "Lehecka Qualifies for BMW Open Main Draw". 24 April 2022. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Jiri Lehecka Holds Firm for Generali Open Kitzbühel Debut Win".
  9. ^ "Dominic Thiem Battles into Kitzbühel Quarter-finals".
  10. ^ "Jiri Lehecka Recognizes Importance of ATP Challenger Tour".
  11. ^ "Jiri Lehecka Raring to Go in Milan Following 2021 Heartbreak | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  12. ^ "Jiri Lehecka Sinks Arnaldi, Reaches Milan SFS | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  13. ^ "Norrie knocked out of Australian Open by Lehecka". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  14. ^ "The Moment That Changed Everything for Jiří Lehečka". ATP Tour.
  15. ^ "Lehecka Upsets Auger-Aliassime to Extend Dream Australian Open Run". ATP Tour.
  16. ^ "Ranking Reaction: Novak Djokovic returns to No. 1 after winning 10th Australian Open title".
  17. ^ "Lehecka Upsets Rublev for Maiden Top 5 Win, Faces Murray in Doha SFS | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  18. ^ "Tomáš Berdych on Jiří Lehečka: 'He Has a Bright Future' | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  19. ^ "Jiří Lehečka Defeats Federico Coria in Miami Opener". ATP Tour.
  20. ^ "Lehecka Beats Musetti to Reach Third round in Miami". ATP Tour.
  21. ^ "No Spicy Food & Dream Dinner with Michael Jordan: Meet Jiří Lehečka". ATP Tour.
  22. ^ @atptour (July 8, 2023). "Rollercoaster match!" (Tweet) – via Twitter. [better source needed]
  23. ^ "Lehecka Sinks Thiem in Umag | ATP Tour | Tennis". Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Sebastián Báez Wins Winston-Salem Crown For Second Consecutive Title | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  25. ^ "Jiri Lehecka Hits Career High, Mover of Week | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  26. ^ "Jiri Lehecka defeats Sebastian Korda, advances to Adelaide International final". 12 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Jiří Lehečka wins first ATP title in Adelaide". 13 January 2024.
  28. ^ "First-time Winner Spotlight: Jiri Lehecka".
  29. ^ "Indian Wells: Lehecka outlasts Nakashima to make third round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  30. ^ "Lehecka upsets Rublev, sets Tsitsipas showdown at Indian Wells".
  31. ^ "Indian Wells Masters: Lehecka advances to first ATP 1000 quarter-final, beats Tsitsipas". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  32. ^ "Jannik Sinner continues unbeaten start to season with Indian Wells quarter-final win against Jiri Lehecka". Eurosport. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Jiří Lehečka Becomes Lowest-ranked Man To Beat Rafa Nadal In A Masters 1000 Clay Event". Forbes.
  34. ^ "Lehecka advances after Medvedev retires in Madrid quarter-final".
  35. ^ "Felix advances to Madrid final after Lehecka retires". ATPTour. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  36. ^ "Emotional Bautista Agut wins Antwerp title: 'I deserved a week like this'". ATPTour. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  37. ^ "Teams Announced for 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  38. ^ "Czech Lehecka stuns sixth seed Auger-Aliassime at Australian Open". Reuters. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  39. ^ "Jiri Lehecka upsets Doha top seed Andrey Rublev". Reuters. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  40. ^ "Lehecka upsets Rublev". ATP News. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  41. ^ "Daniil Medvedev's withdrawal from the Madrid quarterfinal". Tennis Tonic. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
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