Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise defeat to Jiri Lehecka in the Qatar Open quarter-finals, the Czech claiming the first top-three victory of his career. (More Tennis News)
꧂Lehecka produced a big-serving performance to see off the top seed 6-3 3-6 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes, teeing up a meeting with either Jack Draper or Matteo Berrettini.
💟The 23-year-old, who won his second ATP title in Brisbane last month, was first to drop serve in the opening set but responded with two successive breaks of his own.
𒅌He held off fierce pressure from Alcaraz in his final two service games to take the opener, but the four-time grand slam champion hit back by claiming the second set in a quickfire 35 minutes.
🌄When Alcaraz backed up a break to go 4-2 up in the decider, it looked like the match was only going one way, but Lehecka had other ideas.
🎉Lehecka roared back by reeling off four straight games, gaining the upper hand in baseline exchanges with some pinpoint groundstrokes. The Czech's victory was sealed when Alcaraz sent a return long on match point, leaving him delighted.
🐷"I feel great," Lehecka said. "The match was up and down since the beginning. So for me to win a match like that against a player like this is a super big achievement.
♐"I believed in myself and knew I had the level to produce this kind of tennis. I knew if I could be a bit more consistent in matches, I could bring these results more and more.
ꦫ"I think the most important part was I believed in my game and did not back down. Even when I was missing shots in the third set, I wanted to play my game style, be an aggressive player and push him to his limits.
🌳"I was just waiting for the right moment to put all these things together and it happened when I broke him back in the third set."
Data Debrief: Lehecka set for career-high
🐼Lehecka's impressive start to the season has him 22nd in the ATP world rankings, and his latest run will land him a career-best ranking on Monday.
🦋He has now earned seven top-10 victories overall, though this is his first triumph over a player in the top three of the world rankings.
