Jiri Lehecka gives his verdict on how the British crowd treated him during his win over Jack Draper at Queen’s

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Jiri Lehecka was looking to advance to his first career final on grass, but faced a tough test against home-favorite Jack Draper.

Having failed to make much of an impact on the clay in 2025, Lehecka immediately made his presence felt on grass.

The Czech star won his opening two matches in Stuttgart before losing out to Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals.

Carrying that momentum forward to the Queen’s Club Championships, Lehecka beat Alex de Minaur, Gabriel Diallo, and Jacob Fearnley to set up a semi-final clash with Jack Draper.

Battling through in three sets, Lehecka stunned Draper 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, to book his place in Sunday’s final.

During his on-court interview, Lehecka gave his verdict on how the British fans treated him on the Andy Murray Arena.

Jiri Lehecka thanks the British crowd for being ‘fair’ during his win over Jack Draper

After the match, world number 30 Lehecka took the time to thank the British fans for their support.

“I just want to say thanks to you guys for being fair today,” said Lehecka.

“I know that your favorite didn’t win today, but I appreciate that you were being fair and also clapped a few times when I hit a good ball, so thank you very much.”

The 23-year-old could hardly find the right words, having just qualified for the biggest final of his career.

“Means a lot, you don’t meet a player like Jack [Draper] every day, he’s an amazing competitor. What can I say?” he said.

Lehecka’s serve was particularly impressive against Draper, as he revealed how hard he’s been working on the shot after the match.

“It’s not easy to play without a serve, it’s something I’ve been working on the last few weeks,” he said.

“I knew with the transition from clay to grass I would really need to use the shot a lot, and I would need to create some chances with that, so I worked a lot on it and I’m really happy that it worked today as well.”

During the latter stages of the match, Lehecka’s serve held firm, while Draper’s faltered, allowing him to secure the break at 5-5 in the deciding set.

In total, Lehecka hit 16 aces, producing a stellar serving performance that powered him to victory.

The Czech star will no doubt hope he continues to serve as well as he did against Draper when he returns to take on either Carlos Alcaraz or Roberto Bautista Agut in Sunday’s final.

Jiri Lehecka searches for second title of 2025 in Queen’s final

In January, Lehecka beat Reilly Opelka 4-1 (RET) to clinch the Brisbane International title.

He’ll now have a chance to join the exclusive club of multiple-time 2025 ATP Tour champions when he takes to the court on Sunday.

Only Alcaraz (4), Flavio Cobolli (2), and Felix Auger-Aliassime (2) have won multiple men’s singles titles in 2025.

It could well be Alcaraz whom Lehecka plays in the Queen’s final, as the Spaniard starts as a heavy favorite in his semi-final match with Bautista Agut.

Alcaraz beat Lehecka in their first career meeting at Queen’s two years ago, winning in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Czech was, however, victorious the last time they met, as Lehecka beat Alcaraz at the Qatar Open in February.

Against his other potential semi-final opponent, Bautista Agut, Lehecka has lost four matches, winning just once.

They last met in the final of the Antwerp Open in 2024, when the Spanish veteran beat Lehecka in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.

It remains to be seen who Lehecka will play in the Queen’s Club Championships final, but it will certainly be worth tuning in for, regardless.