It was clear from the beginning that Leheček was not in his own skin. He got up only in the second set, when he was losing 4:0. He won three games in a row, but the Slovak did not let the victory take him away.
“The result speaks for itself. It wasn’t me today. My opponent was better from the baseline and, unlike him, I didn’t help myself at all with my serve. It was just obvious. I knew what I wanted and what I had to do, but it wasn’t possible. In the middle of the second set, I therefore stopped playing what I can and started completely the opposite way. I changed my serve, my rhythm, I stayed on the baseline, and that gave me a chance to do something with it at the end. But, unfortunately…” said a disappointed Lehečka.
Klein was very happy with the procedure. “It’s super. I tried to be active, although it was difficult because he plays just like me. However, he made significantly more mistakes and that was crucial. In the second set, he changed his tactics and I didn’t react to it, but fortunately I only made a minor drama out of it, not a huge one,” explained the Slovak tennis player.
He wasn’t nervous, even though he was up against the favorite. “We played against each other a few times at a younger age. I knew what to expect from him. I didn’t have it in my head that he was some huge shooter. I took it that he was at home and should win. I had nothing to lose,” Klein added.
Menšík ended up in Svrčin
Menšík, who was three years younger than the 20-year-old Svrčin, resisted only in the first set. At 6:5, he had a set point, but did not convert it. He did not manage the tie-break that followed and lost it 7:2. In the second set, he didn’t have a chance to make a comeback and came up short.
“The balanced first set, in which we struggled and both had break chances, probably decided it,” said Svrčina, praising how he handled the match with clarity. succeeded. I went into it with the idea that I had to break Kuba in any way I could. I was more solid in the game from the back, active, I didn’t mess up, I was able to get Kuba running,” he enjoyed.
The defeated Menšík considered progressing to the top eight as a decent success, yet immediately after the game, he was dominated by disappointment at the missed opportunity. “I wanted to move on. The start was not bad, but from the middle of the first set, Dalibor practically stopped making mistakes and it was difficult to find any weapon for it. I tried to change something, but he couldn’t be stopped,” Menšík acknowledged.
“Physically it was cool because I didn’t play any marathons in the previous games. Dalibor was simply better,” he praised his opponent.
Challenger in Prostějov (clay, subsidy 118,000 euros): |
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Singles – Quarter Finals: |
Klein (6-SR) – LEHEČKA (1-CR) 6:3, 6:4 |
SVRCINA – MENŠÍK (both CR) 7:6 (7:2), 6:1. |