Match Report
Lehecka foils home hope Fritz with third-set Miami masterclass

Czech will play Landaluce in QFs, Fils & Paul advance

March 24, 2026

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Jiri Lehecka in action against Taylor Fritz on Tuesday in Miami.
By Andy West

Jiri Lehecka delivered a stunning finish to crash the home party on Tuesday afternoon at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Taking on No. 1 American Taylor Fritz at the ATP Masters 1000 event, the 21st-seeded Czech prevailed 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2 to book his quarter-final spot. Lehecka bounced back superbly from the disappointment of losing the second-set tie-break, producing an overall Performance Rating of 9.53 in the third set (up from 6.98 in the second set and well above the Tour average of 7.29), according to TDI Insights.

Third set fire 🔥

Lehecka lights it up in the third set to take out Fritz in Miami👏#TennisInsights | @atptour | @MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/x01lI0jdZh

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) March 24, 2026

“I think that for me the goal was to stay aggressive,” said Lehecka, who red-lined his way to five of the final six games of the match. “I thought in the second set, I kind of stepped back a little bit. In the end, I just felt that in the third set, if I wanted to beat a guy like Taylor, I just needed to go for it and be aggressive. I needed to show the courage that I wanted to win the point. That’s what I tried to do, and it worked well.”

With his two-hour, 20-minute victory inside Hard Rock Stadium, Lehecka became just the third Czech to reach the quarter-finals at both ‘Sunshine Double’ events (Indian Wells and Miami) after former Top 10 stars Petr Korda and Tomas Berdych. In his first Masters 1000 quarter-final since the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open, he will take on Martin Landaluce. The #NextGenATP Spaniard earlier downed Sebastian Korda 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-4.

“I’m very happy with it. I always felt that I needed to make one more step to go far at a Masters 1000 since Madrid,” said Lehecka after reaching the last eight. “It’s great to be back in Miami. It’s great to play well. I was not feeling good in Indian Wells, so I worked pretty hard in the first week here in Miami, during the practice week, to come back and find my game again. I’m very happy that I did that.

“I’m very happy to win three matches in a row, and the third one against a player like Taylor. Top 10 guy, he’s super experienced. He has played so many matches like this, so for me it’s very good.”

Lehecka has risen four spots to No. 18 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his run in Miami so far. After earning his first Top 10 win of 2026 against World No. 7 Fritz, the 24-year-old Czech has also improved to 2-4 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the American.

Arthur Fils also pulled through a three-setter on Tuesday, when the Frenchman overcame Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at Hard Rock Stadium for the second consecutive year.

Fils was clinical with his few chances on return to claim victory against Vacherot, who won 85 per cent (56/66) of points behind his first serve in defeat, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 28th-seeded Fils converted two of his three break points to triumph in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the Monegasque star.

The 21-year-old Fils has now reached five Masters 1000 quarter-finals. Former Top 10 player Richard Gasquet is the only other Frenchman to have reached that tally before turning 22. Fils will next take on 22nd seed Tommy Paul, who eased past 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 6-3, as he bids to reach the semi-finals at a Masters 1000 for the first time.