Who is Jiri Lehecka, the mountaineer who will face Argentina in the Davis Cup

The 20-year-old Czech is the sensation of the rival of the team led by Guillermo Coria, being the revelation of the 2022 ATP season. I know his story.

Jiri Lehecka (94°) made its explosion at the beginning of February of this year, when it reached the ATP 500 Rotterdam semi-finals that catapulted him into the Top-100 of the world ranking. The 20-year-old Czech arrives in his prime to visit in the Davis Cup to Argentina and it will be the rival to beat in the series which takes place at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis on March 4 and 5. I know its history, linked to tennis, but also to mountaineering!

Who is Jiri Lehecka, the mountaineer who will face Argentina in the Davis Cup

Lehecka was born on November 8, 2001, in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic, and grew up in a sporting family and has a particular passion: He is a lover of mountaineering, a passion that has helped him in his nascent tennis career and has accompanied him since he was a child.

“It’s a bit different of course, but I think it has helped me a lot and maybe it can help me with tennis in some situations. If you’re going to go up the hill, you have to keep going or you’ll fall.”the young man told the official ATP website.

His great leap to fame came last February, when he reached the semifinals of the ATP 500 in Rotterdam, where beat Canadian Denis Shapovalov (13th)the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (48th) and the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (57th), and then fall to the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th). It is worth mentioning that at that time, Lehecka was the 137th tennis player in the world.

Now the Czech, who is right-handed and plays a two-handed backhand, will face the Argentine team commanded by Coria to be able to show his great level of the year and also in the Davis Cup, which does not suit him at all. He has two losses: in 2019, against Robin Haase (6-4, 2-6, 6-3); in 2021, against Cameron Norrie (6-1, 2-6, 6-1).

Jiri Lehecka and the mission to lift the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup

Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek were the great stars of their country in the past, but the reality of the Czech Republic is alarming. With only Lehecka and Jiri Vesely (74th and out of Davis) in the Top-100, the first player we find outside is Tomas Machac (131st). Behind, Zdenek Kolar (141st) and Vit Kopriva (168th) complete the quintet of Czechs within the 200 best in the world.

It is clear that the Czechs have lost strength on tour, but what they have not lost are the memories of a past where they reached the sky. “When I was a kid, I remember seeing the Czech Republic winning several Davis Cups and playing incredible qualifiers, indelible matches”recalled Lehecka about the glorious 2012 and 2013. “Every time they played I was there, watching it on television, imagining that one day I could be the one on the court. For me, that generation was an inspiration.ended.