Jiri Lehecka and Carlos Alcaraz are gearing up for their second ever meeting in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.
Lehecka and Alcaraz were beaten by Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, but have both since returned to winning ways.
Following their third round match in Melbourne, Djokovic caused controversy after beating Lehecka when refusing his on-court interview with Jim Courier.
Alcaraz was bidding to complete the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, but will now have to wait another year in his bid to make history.
The 21-year-old has already won four Grand Slam titles in his career, with two of Alcaraz’s victories coming at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz has already cemented his legacy at Wimbledon, with Lehecka now admitting that he doubted the Spaniard’s abilities on grass prior to their first meeting.
Jiri Lehecka admits he got something wrong about Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club
Lehecka and Alcaraz played their only previous match at Queen’s Club in 2023, in what was only his second ATP Tour level match on grass.
When speaking to the ATP ahead of their quarter-final, Lehecka has suggested that he underestimated Alcaraz before being beaten in straight set.
“It was his first ATP tournament on grass. I had played Stuttgart before, so I felt like I was in good form,” said Lehecka. “I must say that I was very surprised by his level, how extremely well adapted he was playing on grass.
“I [knew] that he liked to play on hard courts, definitely on clay, but grass, I felt like it could have been his worst surface. Immediately he proved me wrong. He showed his skills, that he can bring his top game also on grass.”
Alcaraz won his first grass court title at Queen’s Club that year, before going onto win his first Wimbledon title in a five set final victory over seven-time champion Djokovic.
However, the Murcian could not defend his title at the ATP 500 tournament last year after Jack Draper beat Alcaraz at Queen’s.
Alcaraz will return to Queen’s in 2025, as he looks to reclaim the title that he won in 2023.
Jiri Lehecka explains his relationship with Carlos Alcaraz
Lehecka is slightly older than Alcaraz at 23-years-old, and has also enjoyed a strong start to the season having won his second ATP title in Adelaide.
Alcaraz won the Rotterdam Open, where Lehecka was also present, and now both players are set to go head-to-head in Doha.
When asked about his relationship with Alcaraz, Lehecka revealed that he regularly practises at tournaments with him and even did so earlier in the week in Doha.
“We practised together two weeks ago in Rotterdam,” said Lehecka. “We also practised together here in [Doha] at the beginning of the week.
“We all know each other, we follow the results. In the end, it’s almost the same players every week, competing against each other. We know about each other, and we will see how it goes.”
Alcaraz is currently on a seven match winning streak, with Lehecka looking to bring an end to it in the Qatar Open quarter-finals.
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