Indian Wells 2024: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Lehecka preview, head-to-head & prediction | BNP Paribas Open
Match Details
Fixture: (11) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs (32) Jiri Lehecka
Date: March 12, 2024
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open
Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, US
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize Money: $8,995,555
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel/TC Plus | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Lehecka preview
11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will face off against Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round of the 2024 BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday.
Tsitispas dispatched qualifier Lucas Pouille in the second round to book a third-round date against home favorite Frances Tiafoe. The Greek was off to a fast start as he raced to a 5-1 lead but failed to serve out the set at that stage.
Tiafoe's two-game run came to an end after Tsitsipas managed to close out the set on his second attempt. An early break of serve put the Greek 2-1 up in the second set. He maintained the headstart and broke his opponent's serve one last time in the final game of the match for a 6-3, 6-3 win.
Lehecka rallied from a set down to defeat Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round, where fifth seed Andrey Rublev awaited him. The Czech broke his opponent's serve in the very first game of the match.
Lehecka maintained his position as the frontrunner until the end of the first set to claim it. He landed the first blow in the second set too as a break in the third game helped him go 2-1 up. The 22-year-old didn't let Rublev find a way back into the match and went on to win 6-4, 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Lehecka head-to-head
Tsitsipas leads Lehecka 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2023 Australian Open in straight sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Lehecka odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jiri Lehecka prediction
Lehecka put up an impressive performance to down Rublev in the previous round. He won a massive 93% of his first serve points, didn't face a single break point, and struck a total of 31 winners against eight unforced errors.
Lehecka has now reached the fourth round of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time. Tsitsipas, too, played at a pretty good level to get the better of Tiafoe, against whom he had lost his last couple of matches. He recently departed the top 10 of the ATP rankings since breaking into the region back in 2019.
That has proven to be a wake-up call for Tsitsipas as there has been a noticeable uptick in his results and form since then. While he has won both of his prior matches against Lehecka, if the latter plays like he did against Rublev, the Greek might find it tough to stop him in his tracks.
However, should Tsitsipas continue to improve and raise his level even more, he should be able to maintain his perfect winning record against Lehecka.
Pick: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in three sets.