19:01
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 3: 2
Zverev is working really well out of this tricky situation. In the end he even moves to the net and gets his service game with a backhand volley over the longline side.
18:59
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 2: 2
With two strong first serves, Zverev fends off both break chances. A placed first serve through the middle follows, giving him the advantage.
18:58
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 2: 2
The young Czech does everything right. He hardly makes any mistakes with the forehand and the length at the baseline is extremely strong. In doing so, he forces Zverev to make a mistake again. The German can’t take his backhand early and so the ball lands outside of the box. There are two break points for Lehečka.
18:56
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 2: 2
Good rally from both. The pace is consistently high and Lehečka wants to go around his backhand. But then the angle with the forehand becomes too difficult and the ball gets caught on the edge of the net, 15:15.
18:55
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 2: 2
The serve to the outside on the advantage side is currently a safe means for the Czech. Zverev struggles with his return in this phase of the game and so it quickly becomes 2: 2. For the second time he can’t hide his frustration and lets the racket slide a little hard on the ground.
18:53
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 2: 1
Strong challenge from Lehečka. He takes Zverev’s return early and changes sides with his forehand. He puts the ball right on the baseline. The ball is not given well at first, but the video evidence proves otherwise.
18:51
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 2: 1
Zverev can also rely on the serve for the big points. He carpenters the ball through the middle and secures the 2-1 lead in the second set.
18:49
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 1: 1
That’s right. Zverev involves his opponent in a backhand duel and keeps the upper hand. That must be the way. The German makes fewer mistakes with the backhand than with the forehand. In addition, the backhand is clearly the more error-prone side of the 21-year-old.
18:48
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 1: 1
Jiri Lehečka gets the game because Zverev makes three slight mistakes in a row. He lets the bat slip out of his hand and crouches. He knows exactly that he lacks the rhythm.
18:47
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 1: 0
Zverev cannot use his break opportunity. He doesn’t seem 100% comfortable with the forehand yet and opts for more spin over speed. It sometimes looks like he doesn’t dare to go through with it all the time and so the ball gets longer and longer until it lands out of bounds.
18:45
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 1: 0
There is the first break chance for Alexander Zverev! At 30:30 the Czech needs his second serve and wants too much in the subsequent rally. The acceleration with the forehand is a little too wild, so that the ball slips out of bounds.
18:44
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 1: 0
Lehečka moves the backhand into the net and it is clear that this is the thinner shot compared to the powerful forehand. If Zverev wants to turn the tide again, he should build his game more through his opponent’s backhand corner.
18:42
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 1: 0
He starts the sentence better this time. With an ace to the outside, he shoots himself to 40:15. The 21-year-old makes the next point as he looks out for Zverev and textbookly passes him. Zverev’s second ace follows and he takes the lead for the first time this evening.
18:39
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6, 0: 0
Alexander Zverev also opens the second set with his own serve. He’s a bit lucky right away, because Lehečka sees that the German is far behind the baseline. He starts the forehand stop, which just misses his target.
18:38
Conclusion first sentence
Jiri Lehečka started the first set perfectly. He was there immediately and took his one break chance. Zverev did well in the course of the game, but was not able to create a break opportunity for his part. Some of the fine tuning is still missing. The serve, on the other hand, is going really well today.
18:36
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 6
The point should be the only success in this service game for Zverev. The next three points go to Lehečka, who has two set points. What does he do? Nervous, he serves his first ace in the set ball. Through the middle he surprises the German, who can no longer get his bat to the ball.
18:35
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 5
Well played by Alexander Zverev! The backhand cross return almost looked like a winner, but Lehečka went really long. The ball just lands in the opposing field and Zverev has to rush all the way forward. He stays calm, doesn’t overshoot and lays the ball cross to the baseline.
18:33
Zverev – Lehecka 4: 5
The 21-year-old fights his way up to Zverev’s serve, but the German can counter. The backhand crossball into the long corner finally gives him the game and so the pressure shifts to the Czech, who now serves to win the set.
18:31
Zverev – Lehecka 3: 5
The German now has 13 unforced errors on his account. He made all of these mistakes from the baseline, nine from his forehand alone. When the score was 30:0, the next error came, but this time Lehečka forced him to do so because his forehand cross shot extremely powerfully over the net.
18:29
Zverev – Lehecka 3: 5
So far there has been no break chance for Zverev on Lehečka’s serve. Even with the first two points, he struggles with his footwork. He doesn’t stand the ball properly, so the first two returns don’t find their way into the field. Zverev can’t find a rhythm in his opponent’s service game and so the service quickly switches back to him.
18:26
Zverev – Lehecka 3: 4
With the first ace of the game, Zverev keeps in touch. That will have done him good and will build his confidence in this match.
18:25
Zverev – Lehecka 2: 4
Having just been praised, Lehečka now makes two unforced errors with the forehand through the middle. He shoots the ball past Zverev quite uncontrollably the first time, who then looks deep into his opponent’s eyes.
18:24
Zverev – Lehecka 2: 4
What a feeling from Lehečka! Zverev shoots the ball cross to the other side with his forehand. The 21-year-old is on the way up and gets the ball out with the volley stop. The Czech isn’t making any minor mistakes at the moment.
18:22
Zverev – Lehecka 2: 3
Zverev anticipates the serve to the outside, but only hits the ball with the frame. He then wants too much too quickly. The slice return over the longline side is clever to neutralize the fast serve. But then he wants to pick up the pace too quickly and uses his forehand to hammer the ball into the net.
18:20
Zverev – Lehecka 2: 3
Good service game by Alexander Zverev! He only allows one point against himself and shortens to 2:3 in the first set. He managed to dictate his own service game. The forehand is also finding more and more precision.
18:17
Zverev – Lehecka 1: 3
Alexander Zverev has not given up yet and is fighting his way into the debut. His backhand just about hits the line. However, the server gains the advantage with a service winner. The next point also goes to Lehečka, who puts a lot of pressure on Zverev with the serve.
18:15
Zverev – Lehecka 1: 2
The longline ball from the Czech acts as a good attacking ball. He boldly moves up and briefly puts the backhand volley across the field. Zverev is still behind the baseline and has no chance.
18:14
Zverev – Lehecka 1: 2
Well played by Lehečka! He nails Zverev on the backhand side. He was already on his way back to the middle and is a step too late on the ball.
18:11
Zverev – Lehecka 1: 2
With two good first serves, Alexander Zverev puts himself in front mt 30:0. Lehečka then scored the point with his strong forehand, but Zverev responded by changing direction to the longline corner. The rally that followed was also short, because the 21-year-old failed with his backhand on the net. Zverev brings his service game through for the first time.
18:08
Zverev – Lehecka 0:2
Can the Czech also confirm the break? A strong change of pace forces Lehečka Zverev to make a mistake with the backhand and sets a solid 40:15. He doesn’t let anything burn, scores the next point and takes a 2-0 lead in the first set.
18:05
Zverev – Lehecka 0:1
That was fast! Zverev experiences a false start and puts his backhand through the middle to the edge of the net. He’s chasing a break right at the start of the game.
18:04
Zverev – Lehecka 0:0
Let’s go! Alexander Zverev opens the game with his own serve. How does he get in? Lehečka put his forehand return into the net and gave the German the first point. After that, however, only the Czech plays, who places his forehand across the field. This immediately gives the 21-year-old two break chances.
17:57
Lehečka chooses Rückschöag
The players have arrived on the pitch. Jiří Lehečka wins the toss and decides to go for setback. Both have four minutes left to hit the ground and then it’s off.
17:42
Rublev prevails
The match is over! Andrey Rublev leaves nothing to be desired in the second set and defeats his opponent 7:5 and 6:2. The seat is now free and after a short break the protagonists of our game are expected.
17:28
Space is not free yet
A little patience is still required, because the center court is not yet free. Andrey Rublev and Filip Krajinović are currently playing against each other. Last year’s winner Rublev leads 7: 5 and 3: 1 in the second set.
17:27
tough lot
The 25-year-old Zverev and Lehečka, who is four years younger, have met once on the pitch so far. The clash was not long ago, as it took place in January this year at the United Cup in Australia. The Czech prevailed quite clearly with 6:4 and 6:2. Statistically speaking, this makes him one of the favourites. However, if Zverev finds his way back to his old strength, he should be the more variable player. Currently, the first lot is more of a tough task.
17:16
Lehecka in top form
Jiří Lehečka is waiting on the other side. The 21-year-old got off to a good start in the new season and reached his career high at the beginning of February with 37th place in the world rankings. He is currently ten places down. The Czech also faced Andy Murray in Doha, but only in the semifinals. But even Lehečka couldn’t stop the Scot. Before that, however, he proved by beating Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals that he can now compete with the top players on the tennis circuit.
17:10
Zverev continues to work on himself
The German number one continues to work hard on his comeback. So far, Zverev’s ability has already been reflected in individual games up to one set, but he is not yet consistent enough over the entire match distance. That should change, especially through match practice. Last week, the man from Hamburg met Andy Murray at the tournament in Doha. Both fought a real fight before the former Grand Slam champion advanced to the next round victorious in three sets. Zverev went directly to Dubai, where he can now compete with Jiří Lehečka.
17:02
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the first round of this year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. At around 5:30 p.m. Alexander Zverev is playing his first round game against Jiří Lehečka.