Lehecka: “I’ve been thinking about the match with Nadal for a long time”

Czech tennis player Jiri Lehecka already He reached the semifinals of the Masters 1000 for the first time in his careerin Madrid, because of Russian abandonment Daniel Medvedev recognized the relevance in his thought of victory achieved in the round of 16 against Rafael Nadal in the tournament played at the Caja Mágica.

“The match against Rafa will be something that will be on my mind for a long time. What more could you dream of than beating Rafa in Spain, in this incredible stadium and in front of such a loud crowd? It’s not easy . He’s a very solid player on clay. It was not easy because I never played alone against Rafa. I was playing against 12,000 other people who were having fun. Mentally, I couldn’t handle it well. summary.

Lehecka He advanced to the semifinals due to Medvedev’s withdrawal due to injury. “It wasn’t the way I wanted to win the Masters 1000 quarterfinals but I got through. We’ll see the match on Friday”said the Czech, who is in the semi-finals He will face Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime.

“We know each other, we trained together and we played an incredible match at the Australian Open last year. It will be a great fight. We know what to expect from each other. It won’t be easy. This is a stretch of the tournament where you can’t pick an opponent so everyone is strong. Wish me luck”

“It feels good to be in the semi-finals. Playing my first clay tournament of the year at the Masters 1000 and being in the semi-finals. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. I don’t normally play well at the Masters 1000. I got valuable experience in matches like Rafa the other day I played well in Indian Wells this year.added the Czech.