Lehecka, on Sinner and Alcaraz's Domination: "It's Very Good for the Sport"

After signing one of the great weeks of his career, Jiri Lehecka failed the final exam of the Miami Open 2026. It was impossible for the Czech to reach the level of a Jannik Sinner who once again secured the champion's trophy.

Of course, considering the level that some of his rivals had displayed, even the level that Jiri Lehecka himself had shown in previous encounters with Jannik Sinner, surely the Czech can leave this Miami Open 2026 with peace of mind. He competed at times against the top favorite, but as he himself explained later in the press conference, there were a couple of fundamental factors that he couldn't overcome. Some were related to tennis skills, and others were mental, but that's what this sport is all about. In addition, Lehecka acknowledged that having prominent figures like Sinner and Alcaraz in the circuit is very positive as it helps the rest to find their limits.

Two keys to understand why he lost the final

"Experience and confidence are crucial, I believe these two factors played a significant role today. He showed it at every crucial moment in the first set, especially in that game at 0-40 where I had the opportunity to get back into the match. At that moment, he served incredibly well, hitting five first serves, and I felt that with a second serve, I would have a chance to find my rhythm and put pressure on him, but that's where Jannik stepped up. From that moment on, everything became extremely difficult for me."

Better performance than at Roland Garros

"In our last encounter at Roland Garros, I felt that the conditions were extremely challenging for my style of play. We played indoors on Suzanne Lenglen, it was super humid with heavy balls. I felt he had all the tools to defeat me at that time, so I couldn't do much against his serve. Every time I hit a good shot, he had all the time to counter it in some way. Here, the story was slightly different, conditions were also heavy due to the rain, which didn't help me much, but that's how things go. I played a better match, showed a higher performance than in Paris. I was focused on not making the same mistake as there, like using my first serve more and approaching the net more."

The best takeaway from this tournament

"Consistency is something I am very proud of this week. I played many matches in different conditions, against different types of players. The way I could maintain my main weapons throughout all those matches was something I had been working on in the last two weeks, even months. My mental setup to face these matches is also something I am very pleased with, how I could turn around situations that were not in my favor. The second set against Taylor (Fritz), for example, made me very happy. These are the key factors that can help my game, and this time I managed them as I wanted."

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Now, straight to Montecarlo

"The transition to clay is never easy, but we have a week off. I will definitely go to play Montecarlo; I won't compete in any other tournament starting tomorrow, it wouldn't make sense. It might be a bit rushed; normally, I would take a bit more extra time to prepare, but it's okay. Having reached the final here, I understand that the work in Montecarlo will be easier if we start from the confidence I bring with me. At the same time, there is no better place to start the clay season than in Montecarlo, an incredible place where I like to be whenever I can. The conditions of this tournament are great, better than in any other place in Europe."

Jiri Lechecka on the dominance of Sinner and Alcaraz

"It's not the first time something like this happens in the world of tennis (laughs). We have seen it before with different names, but I think it's great, really. It's very good for the sport and also for us. Ultimately, they show us the limits, teach us what we need to improve in our game and basically what we need to enhance around us to beat them. Not just once but on multiple occasions and, ideally, on the big stages. Matches like today against these guys help me see that I still have a lot of room to improve. I had a good tournament here; I'm satisfied with my game, but it once again showed me where I need to go, I have to keep improving every day if I want to defeat these guys in the final rounds of events like Masters 1000 or Grand Slams."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Lehecka, sobre el dominio de Sinner y Alcaraz: “Es algo muy bueno para el deporte”