Jiri Lehecka cruised past Sebastian Korda 6-2 6-1 in 71 minutes to reach his second ATP Tour final at Memorial Drive at Adelaide International following his runner-up spot in Winston Salem last year.
Lehecka won 45% of points on Korda’s first serve and 61% on the American’s second serve. The Czech player dropped just one set in this tournament.
Lehecka converted his seventh break point in the second game of the opening set to open up a 3-0 lead and held three break points in the seventh game for 5-2. Lehecka sealed the first set 6-2 with a break on his second set point. Lehecka broke serve at love in the second game to open up a 3-0 lead. He earned a double break in the sixth game on his fourth opportunity and sealed the win on his first match point.
Last year Lehecka held a championship point in Adelaide 1 before losing to Novak Djokovic in the final.
Lehecka advanced to his first Grand Slam quarter final at last year’s Australian Open.
“I love this country. It’s so nice to start the year here. I am enjoying every minute of my first time in Adelaide and it shows on the field. I was a little surprised that it went so well, but I did everything I could to make it happen”, said Lehecka.
Lehecka will face Jack Draper, who beat Alexander Bublik 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to reach his second consecutive final.
Draper earned an early break in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Bublik broke straight back in the third game. Draper went up a break in the fourth game, but Bublik pulled back on serve in the fifth game to draw level to 3-3. Bublik saved a set point at 6-5 before forcing a tie-break. Draper earned a mini-break to take a 4-2 lead before closing out the tie-break 7-2.
Both players traded holds of serve at the start of the second set. Draper broke serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead and consolidated the break to take a 4-2 lead. Draper held on his service games and converted the first of his three match points.
“I am very proud of myself. It was a tough match against a guy who is very unpredictable. It’s really fun to play against him and to watch him play as well. It’s not a very good mix when you have got a guy serving 136 miles and you can’t see the ball because the sun is coming on the court, but it was a really good match”, said Draper in his on-court interview.
Draper will take on Marcos Giron in the first round at the Australian Open next week.
