Rinky Hijikata has taken his place alongside compatriot Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals of the Queen’s Club Championships after a huge upset victory over second seed, Jiri Lehecka. The Aussie World No.104 left tennis fans in shock after rallying from a set down to send Lehecka packing in an absorbing 4-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7) second-round victory.
Playing on the Andy Murray Arena centre court at the iconic grass court event, Hijikata grew in confidence as the match wore on, before toppling the World No.12 in an intense third-set tiebreaker. It’s the second massive win of the year for the Aussie after he downed Alexander Bublik at Indian Wells in March to claim his first top-10 scalp.
Rinky Hijikata (L) has joined his fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur (R) in the Queen’s quarter-finals after a thrilling upset win over second seed, Jiri Lehecka (not pictured)
(Getty)
Countryman de Minaur had already secured his passage through to the last-eight with a 6-4 6-1 win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov to continue his solid build-up to Wimbledon. And Hijikata ensured there would be two Australians in the Queen’s quarter-finals after pulling off another extraordinary victory on his favoured grass surface.
“That’s massive. I love playing on grass, so it feels like home being back here in London, and I love playing at this venue. So, yeah, I’m just pumped a bit here,” a thrilled Hijikata said afterwards. “It was all pretty difficult. I went down an early break in both the first and second sets.
“He didn’t make life easy. It was a tough match all the way through and then at the end, there was only a point or two difference. At the end, I was getting a bit tight, to be honest, I was just trying to stay with it as well as I could, and I’m just happy to get through.”
Rinky Hijikata into Queen’s quarters after huge upset win
Hijikata had to battle through two rounds of qualifying before defeating Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the first round. But he looked in trouble against Lehecka after the Czech powered ahead in an impressive opening stanza.
However, the 25-year-old Hijikata dug deep in a tensely fought second set to send the match into a decider. With very little separating the two players, it was the Aussie’s defensive prowess and superior fitness that came to the fore in the third.
Australia’s Rinky Hijikata celebrates his shock second round victory over Czech World No.12 Jiri Lehecka at Queen’s. Pic: Getty
(Steven Paston – PA Images via Getty Images)
And after setting up four match points in the deciding tiebreak, Hijikata finally got the job done against a weary Lehecka. The Czech sent a tired return into the net to hand the Aussie victory in a two-hour and 48 minute epic that sent fans into raptures.
Hijikata will now face either Hamad Medjedovic or Ugo Humbert in the quarters, with their second-round match locked at a set-all before bad light stopped play. 2024 champion Tommy Paul advanced earlier in the day with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win over Botic van de Zandschulp. The American will play Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who knocked out French maverick Corentin Moutet 6-4 6-3.