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Match Details
Fixture: Dominic Thiem vs Jiri Lehecka
Date: July 27, 2023
Tournament: Croatia Open Umag
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Hamburg, Germany
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Clay
Prize money: €1,831,515
Live telecast: USA: Tennis Channel | UK: Amazon Prime | Australia: beIN Sports | Canada: TSN
Dominic Thiem vs Jiri Lehecka preview
Dominic Thiem will take on top seed Jiri Lehecka in the second round of the Croatia Open Umag on Thursday.
Thiem entered the ATP 250 event after his opening-round exit at Wimbledon at the hands of Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Austrian faced Argentina's Facundo Bagnis in the opening round and broke in the very first game. This turned out to be decisive as he took the set 6-4 to get the lead in the match.
The second set was tightly contested and Thiem saved a set point before making the break in the following game to take a 6-5 lead. The Austrian then held his serve to win 6-4, 7-5 and book his place in the quarterfinals of the Croatia Open.
Lehecka produced some promising performances so far this season, notably reaching his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open and the semifinals of the Qatar Open.
The Czech had a decent run at Wimbledon as he reached the Round of 16 before retiring against Daniil Medvedev due to injury. He finished the grass court season with five wins out of eight matches.
Lehecka then entered the Croatia Open as the top seed and booked his place in the second round of the tournament after receiving a walkover due to his seeding.
Dominic Thiem vs Jiri Lehecka head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two currently stands at 0-0 as they haven't locked horns before.
Dominic Thiem vs Jiri Lehecka odds
All odds are sourced from bet365.
Dominic Thiem vs Jiri Lehecka prediction
Lehecka is the higher-ranked player and will have the edge entering the match. However, Thiem has produced several glimpses this season and considering his quality on clay, he cannot be written off.
Thiem was pretty solid on his first serve in his last match, serving three aces and winning 38 out of 45 points. However, he served five double faults and will have to be careful not to produce too many of those.
The Austrian plays aggressively and his backhand is still a pretty effective weapon. However, he also has the defensive prowess needed to do well on clay and can swiftly transition from defense to offense.
Lehecka has won five out of 10 matches on clay so far this season. While he hasn't served too many aces on the surface (27) in 2023, he has an effective serve which is not easy to return.
The Czech player will be eager to make the most out of his powerful groundstrokes and will have to be at his best from a movement perspective if he is to come out on top.
While Lehecka is the higher-ranked player, Thiem's clay-court ability might see him eke out a win and reach the quarterfinals in Umag.
Pick: Thiem to win in three sets.
