London – Jiří Lehečka and Petra Kvitová advanced to the round of 16 at Wimbledon. The 21-year-old Czech tennis player won the 3rd round match with the American Tommy Paul after almost four hours, which was interrupted twice by rain. He beat the 16th seed 6:2, 7:6, 6:7, 6:7, 6:2 and will face Russian Daniil Medvedev’s tournament three. The two-time winner of the London Grand Slam Kvitová knocked out the Serbian Natalija Stevanovičová after sets 6:3, 7:5. She will next face last year’s finalist Tunisian Uns Džábirová.
This year’s Australian Open quarter-finalist Leheček once again improved his best on the grass courts at the All England Club. He played 63 winning balls and helped himself to 19 aces. The American, five years older, had thirty fewer winning balls.
Lehečka entered the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open confidently and won the first set in half an hour thanks to two breaks. In the second, both players were 100 percent on serve until the abbreviated game, but in it the Czech tennis player clearly succeeded 7:2.
In the third set, the match was tied at 1:1 due to rain. The 37th player in the world, Leheček, lost his serve after returning, but he managed to repay his opponent with a break. It was again decided by a shortened game, in which the Czech tennis player did not take advantage of the 5:3 lead. He lost four balls in a row and Paul reduced. Lehečka lost the first set in the tournament.
In the fourth game of the third set, Lehečka lost 0:40 on his serve, but held his serve. At 5:6, it started to rain again and the match was interrupted for more than twenty minutes. A shortened game decided again.
In it, Paul led 6:2, but Leheček deflected all set points and equalized. With match point at 8:7, coach Michal Navrátil’s charge interrupted the exchange and claimed an out, but according to a hawk’s eye, the ball fell on the baseline and the tie-break continued. At 9:10, Leheček did not turn away the seventh set point and Paul forced the decisive set.
The Czech tennis player did not give up and conquered the fifth set. He didn’t hesitate on serve and won four games in a row from 2:2. After taking the third match point of the match, he was happy to kneel on the Wimbledon lawn and celebrate.
“It was an incredible feeling after the match point. The match was so tough from start to finish. After the failed hawk eye, I thought I was going to go underground. Fortunately, I was able to breathe and come back in style in the fifth set,” he told reporters Lightweight. “I think he ran out of juice. He had to run a lot, he was under pressure,” he said to his opponent.
The 33-year-old Kvitová won her eighth match in a row and extended this year’s unbeaten streak on grass. Before the start of the third Grand Slam this year, she won in Berlin. She last lost on grass last year in the 3rd round of Wimbledon to the Spaniard Paula Badosa.
“It was a difficult match, also because of the rain. She (Stevanovičová) uses her chops a lot and plays differently than other tennis players. I had to be calm. In the end, I somehow managed it. But I should have gone to the net a little more,” said Kvitová
She played her 50th anniversary match at Wimbledon and improved her record to 38 wins and 12 losses. Since 2000, only five tennis players have won more matches here – American Venus and Serena Williams, Lindsey Davenport, Russian Maria Sharapova and Polish Agnieszka Radwaňská.
Kvitová was the first to lose serve in the match against the 225th player in the world and this year’s Wimbledon conqueror, Karolína Plíšková. But she took the initiative from 1:2, won four games in a row and then used the fourth set point. In the second set, she led 4:2 thanks to two breaks, but the Serb turned the tide with three games in a row. The match was subsequently interrupted by rain.
Returning to the court, Kvitová won ten balls in a row and served to win the match. Stevanovičová did not give up and averted three match points. But she did not use three break points and Kvitová converted the fourth match point after one hour and 51 minutes.
“I don’t know, I don’t consider myself a favorite. All the big names are still progressing through the tournament. But I don’t worry about that anymore. I’m happy that I advanced to the second week. That’s already a success for me,” said Kvitová.
Markéta Vondroušová and Marie Bouzková also made it to the Wimbledon round of 16 a day earlier. They will compete for promotion to the top eight together.
World No. 1 Alcaraz is in the round of 16, Sabalenková also advanced
The number one tennis player in the world, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, defeated Nicolás Jarry from Chile 6:3, 6:7, 6:3 and 7:5 in the third round of Wimbledon. Defending champion Jelena Rybakinová from Kazakhstan is also in the round of 16 after winning 6:1 twice over home Katie Boulterová, as well as world number two Aryna Sabalenková from Belarus, who beat Russia’s Anna Blinkova 6:2 and 6:3.
The 20-year-old Alcaraz won the first set without any major problems, but in the end he struggled to advance. Jarry was the first in the tournament to take a set from him, and in the fourth set he also took the lead 4:1. But the Spanish favorite turned the score around and Italian Matteo Berrettini awaits him in the round of 16.
Rybakinová clearly handled Boulterová in 58 minutes and in the round of 16 she will be challenged by Beatriz Haddadová Maia, who knocked out Romanian Sorana Cirsteaová twice 6:2. The 27-year-old Brazilian improved her best at Wimbledon for the second time, her best being here was twice in the second round (2017, 2019).
While Sabalenková needed three sets to win in the second round, today she did not give Blinková a chance and advanced in one hour and 22 minutes. She will also face a Russian opponent in the round of 16. She will play against Ekaterina Alexandrová, who beat Hungarian Dalma Gálfiová, who defeated Linda Nosková 6:0 and 6:4.
Tournament top three Russian Daniil Medvedev advanced to the round of 16 after winning 4:6, 6:3, 6:4, 6:4 over Hungarian Márton Fucsovics and equaled his Wimbledon record. The winner of the US Open 2021 will be Jiří Lehečka’s opponent in the next round.
After a 6:3, 4:6, 3:6, 6:4 and 7:6 (10:8) win over Alejandro Davidovich, Dane Holger Rune is also in the round of 16. The sixth seed was also helped by an unsuccessful serve from below, which the Spanish opponent tried in the tie-break of the deciding set.
Davidovich served from the bottom with the score tied at 8:8, but Rune caught the intention and reached the match point with an uncatchable return, which he immediately took advantage of. At the premiere in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, he will play against Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria or Frances Tiafoe from the USA.
Tennis Wimbledon in London
(grass, £44.7 million endowment):
Men: Singles – 3rd round:
Medveděv (3-Rus.) – Fucsovich (Maď.) 4:6, 6:3, 6:4, 6:4, Lightweight (CZ) – Paul (16-USA) 6:2, 7:6 (7:2), 6:7 (5:7), 6:7 (9:11), 6:2, Alcaraz (1-Sp .) – Jarry (25-Chile) 6:3, 6:7 (6:8), 6:3, 7:5, Tsitsipas (5-Greece) – Djere (Serbia) 6:4, 7:6 (7:5), 6:4, Eubanks (USA) – O’Connell (Aust.) 7:6 (7:5), 7:6 (7:3), 7:6 (7:2), Rune (6-Dan.) – Davidovich (31-Sp.) 6:3, 4:6, 3:6, 6:4, 7:6 (10:8), Berrettini (It.) – Zverev (19-German .) 6:3, 7:6 (7:4), 7:6 (7:5).
Women: Singles – 3rd round:
Haddadová Maiaová (13-Brazil) – Cirsteaová (Romania) 6:2, 6:2, Alexandrová (21-Russia) – Gálfiová (Germany) 6:0, 6:4, Kvitova (9-CZ) – Stevanovičová (Serb.) 6:3, 7:5, Sabalenková (2-Běl.) – Blinkovová (Russia) 6:2, 6:3, Keysová (25-USA) – Kosťuková (Ukr. .) 6:4, 6:1, Rybakinová (3-Kaz.) – Boulterová (Brit.) 6:1, 6:1, Džábirová (6-Tun.) – Andreescuová (Can.) 3:6, 6: 3, 6:4.
Doubles – 1st round:
DetiucováGamizová (CZ/Ven.) – Christieová, Collinsová (Brit.) 6:4, 2:6, 6:3, Kolodziejová, Vondroušová (Czech Republic) – Erraniová, Grabherová (It./Austria) 6:3, 6:4, Siegemundová, Zvonareva (German/Russian) – MartincováVekičová (Czech Republic/Croatia) 6:4, 7:5, UncleXie Shu-wei (Czech Republic/Taiwan) – Yang Chao-süan, Alexandrova (China/Russia) 3:6, 6:2, 6:4.
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Juniors: Singles – 1st round:
Robertson (Brit.) – Filip (Czech Republic) 6:4, 6:2.
Junior girls: Singles – 1st round:
Munková Mortensenová (Danish) – Kovačková (Czech Republic) 6:2, 6:3.
tennis Wimbledon
2023-07-08 20:12:40
#Lehečka #Kvitová #Wimbledon
