This article first appeared in the April/May 2023 issue of Australian Tennis Magazine, one of the world’s longest-running tennis publications. For more in-depth features, news and analysis, you can subscribe now.
Watching Jiri Lehecka, only recently turned 21, make spectacular leaps with his potent blend of power and strategy, it’s easy to imagine tennis as his singular focus since childhood.
In only his second season at ATP level, the Czech is already a Grand Slam quarterfinalist – that milestone achieved with wins over top-20 opponents Cameron Norrie and Felix Auger-Aliassime at Australian Open 2023 – and achieved a peak top-40 ranking earlier this year.
But tennis was far from a single-minded pursuit for the young Lehecka, who recalls first picking up a racquet as a three-year-old after watching older sister Veronika enjoy time on court with their grandmother, a former national player.
Sport flows through the family bloodlines, with Lehecka’s father, Jiri snr, a former professional swimmer and his mother, Romana, starring as a track and field competitor. Growing up in the city of Mlada Boleslav, in the Czech Republic’s historic Bohemian region, Lehecka enjoyed a range of activities, including swimming and running, as a child. “I have the genes to be sportsman,” the Czech, who now lists hiking, skiing and cycling as his off-court interests, told ATPTour.com last season. “Sport is my passion, all the way up and down.”
It wasn’t until a 15-year-old Lehecka relocated to Prostejov, some 250 kilometres from his family home, that a career in the sport became a serious aspiration. While leaving home as a teenager had required considerable sacrifice, Lehecka could see tantalising possibilities as he connected with prominent names at the famous TK Prostejov tennis club.
“I started to feel more like I would love to do that professionally and I really like how all these players looked when they are playing on the big stages,” Lehecka has commented. “That was probably the moment when I looked at myself and said, ‘Yeah, I really want to live a life like that’.”
It helped that his influential early years coincided with a proud period in the nation’s tennis history. Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek had featured in consecutive Davis Cup victories for the Czech Republic, and his countrymen joined Roger Federer as Lehecka’s childhood heroes.
“When I was a kid I was looking up to Tomas Berdych for sure because Davis Cup 2012 and 2013 when Czech team won both times it was an incredible experience for me to see it with my own eyes. You know, how they played, how they won in front of 20,000 Czech fans,” said Lehecka, who also spotted pleasing similarities in their playing styles.
“Then of course during my career and when I was growing up as a kid, I saw some similarities in our game. That he has a strong body as I have. He can play really fast. We have similar technique of forehand. He can serve pretty well as well … when we speak about Czech players, Tomas Berdych is for sure the one who I think that I'm trying to get as close as I can.”
A teenage coaching relationship with Jaroslav Navratil, Berdych’s coach when he made his top-10 debut in 2006, became another parallel with his countryman. Lehecka is now coached by Michal Navratil, Jaroslav’s son and a close friend of Berdych’s, who has helped the 21-year-old match his breathtaking power with valuable self-belief and composure.
As a qualifier in Rotterdam last year, Lehecka upset Denis Shapovalov – who, at world No.12, was ranked 125 places higher – to reach a first ATP-level semifinal. All-round 2022 consistency helped the Czech’s progress to the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Italy, where he was runner-up to Brandon Nakashima.
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The rise has been even more impressive in the 2023 season. Following his Australian Open quarterfinal appearance, Lehecka claimed a first top-five win over Andrey Rublev en route to the Doha semifinals.
“I have improved everything,” he commented of his rapid progress. “Mostly my mentality on the court. I gained confidence from the Next Gen and now I have learned how to use it.”
Berdych, who was returning home from a holiday, made a point of stopping in Dubai to watch and hit with his compatriot at the younger Czech’s next tournament. The former world No.4 was among the many observers impressed by Lehecka’s potential.
“He’s very young. But what I’ve seen, it’s really the way he’s composed with his game. I think it’s very good,” Berdych told ATP Media. “What I like is his fitness preparation or his body being strong and some of the young kids, they might struggle with it. They need more muscles or lack power. That’s definitely not his case, which I like.”
Coach Michal Navratil is equally delighted with his charge’s early progress, noting Lehecka’s impressive development as both a player and a person. “When I met Jiri (for the) first time, he surprised me with the humility. He was such a nice person,” he related. “And then of course it was immediately the strength and the power of the shots that were in him.”
A notably mature Lehecka, who enjoys video games but always travels with a book – “this is a very important thing to have. It’s important to read,” he explains – believes the varied interests of his childhood helped him to develop into a more complete athlete.
Attributing his empathy to his mother and work ethic to his father, the world No.44 is pursuing his next career steps knowing that Navratil and his mental coach have also helped instil crucial perspective.
“I’ve had a lot of emotions on the tennis court and I’m just trying to be more positive each day,” he said. “They have helped me with that. Be more positive and go 100 per cent, and with that, the success will come.”
Alex de Minaur is the cover star of the April/May 2023 issue of Australian Tennis Magazine.