Both stars will be in action on Sunday for their respective finals in the ATP and WTA.
Jeri Lehecka and Xinyu Wang made June 21 memorable for them with a maiden entry to the ATP and WTA finals respectively. Lehecka silenced the Queen’s Club crowd by defeating Jack Draper in three-set thriller in the ATP 500 semifinals. On the other hand, Xinyu Wang got better of Marketa Vondrousova in Berlin Open semifinals with a straight-set victory to reach her first WTA finals. Both stars will be in action on Sunday for their respective finals. It’s interesting to see who becomes champions for the first time in ATP and WTA 500 event.
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Jiri Lehecka made into the Queeen’s Club semifinals without dropping a single set but the pressure was high on the Czech Republican ace. Lehecka was facing the world No. 4 Jack Draper, who had the home support and led the Czech star 2-1 in the ATP H2H meetings. The two-time ATP Tour champion, Lehecka won the opening set 6-4 but Draper bounced back to force the decider.
The 23-year-old made an inspired comeback to beat Jack Draper 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a match which lasted two hour and seven minutes. He become the first Czech man to reach a tour-level final on grass since Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2010. It was the second H2H victory over Draper as Lehecka beat the British No. 1 in 2024 Adelaide final on hard court.
“It means a lot, you don’t beat a player like Jack every day,” said Lehecka. “I want to say thanks to [the crowd] for making it fair. I know your favourite didn’t win today, but I really appreciate you being fair and clapping when I hit a few good [shots].”
Throughout the campaign at Queen’s Club, Lehecka has been a top-class player. The Czech Republican ace dispatched de Minaur, Diallo, Fearnley, all in straights. His real test is against the world No. 2 and the five-time major champion, Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Roberto Bautista Agut in second semifinal of the event.
Xinyu Wang had a fairytale story in the Berlin Open as she makes into the final of the WTA 500 event for the first time. The Chinese ace outclassed Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals. She took just 75 minutes to knockout the Russian ace and reach first final of her career at the German Open. Before smashing Samsonova in second set badly, Wang had a 5-2 lead in the opening set before the Russian ace hit back to win two more games.
Wang Xinyu, ranked 49th in the world, entered through qualifying round and made it into the finals of the event. She beat the world No. 2 and the Roland Garros champion, Coco Gauff in the round of 16. Before entering to the semifinals, the Chinese ace went 0–6 in WTA semifinals in straight sets. It was her first grass-court semifinal but she played like a champion.
“This week has been a dream for me. I’ve been playing unbelievable tennis here. I don’t know, it’s something with Berlin I guess,” Wang said. “Coming to every match here, I wasn’t expecting anything, you know. For me, it was really just to enjoy the stage … We’re always saying that [you should] celebrate before the final because if you lose that, you don’t celebrate anything for this incredible week.”
The 23-year-old Wang, ranked 49th in the world, has enjoyed a breakout week in the German capital, beating second seed Coco Gauff in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, Wang beat Badosa in the quarterfinals when the Spaniard left the game after losing the opening set. She would now take on Marketa Vondrousova, the another qualifier who beat world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 to reach her first final since the 2023 Wimbledon.
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
