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Jiri Lehecka found his best Grand Slam result at the 2023 Australian Open. The Czech tennis player played an excellent tournament and reached the quarterfinals beating the likes of Borna Coric, Cameron Norrie and Felix Auger-aliassime.
His fantastic run in Melbourne was interrupted by Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost in the final to Novak Djokovic. His four victories at the Australian Open have lifted Lehecka to 39th in the ATP rankings and will allow him to look to the future with optimism.
"It has been a great tournament. I needed time to think about everything that had happened. I pushed myself to the limit in many games and saw the true level that I can express. I am very proud to have played like this. From the first moment I believed that I could beat Tsitsipas, I had played a very close game against him in Rotterdam.
He already has a lot of experience and knows my game well. It was the first time he stepped foot on Rod Laver Arena. At first it was difficult, I needed time to adapt to such a big stage. Luckily I didn't play badly, but I didn't take advantage of my opportunities", said the Czech in a recent interview with Bola Amarela.
"I think I have the level to beat the best tennis players on the circuit. I know I have potential. Now I'm in the top 50 and my goal is to improve in the coming weeks. I want to develop my tennis and try to work on some aspects of my game.
If I keep working so hard, I have a good chance to do even better in Grand Slam tournaments." Lehecka finally revealed the challenge he dreams of facing in his career. "Easy. I would love to play a final at Wimbledon against Djokovic valid for the first position in the ranking."
Tsitsipas praises Nole Djokovic
Stefanos Tsitsipas is using his heartbreaking loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Australian Open final as motivation to keep improving.
"I take Djokovic as an example, who for the last few years we thought he had reached the highest level that tennis has to offer and every year he shows that he is even better than the year before," Stefanos Tsitsipas said in a recent interview with Sports DNA.
"This inspires me and I have him as a role model at this time. Mechanically some small things I've changed that help me find the corners of the court better, mainly in serving placement. I have improved it a lot and it comes from the shafts of the arm, the elbow," Tsitsipas said on the same."