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Tsitsipas beats Lehecka to extend US Open campaign

From The Express Tribune · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated 18th-seeded Jiri Lehecka in four sets to reach the US Open fourth round for the first time.
  • The Greek, who recently returned from back problems, advanced to a Grand Slam round of 16 for the first time in more than two years.
  • Tsitsipas credited vocal support from New York's Greek-American community and said he is now playing without pain.

Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the US Open fourth round for the first time by upsetting 18th-seeded Jiri Lehecka, extending a campaign that has offered the Greek player a glimpse of a revival.

The former top-five player recovered from losing the opening set to win 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1. The third-set tiebreak proved decisive. Tsitsipas struck two consecutive aces, while Lehecka double-faulted and missed several ground strokes. Tsitsipas finished with 34 winners to Lehecka's 22, and made 30 unforced errors compared with 41 from the Czech player.

you carried me through this match

· Stefanos TsitsipasTsitsipas thanked the New York crowd after his victory, referring to vocal support from the Greek-American community.

Tsitsipas, who had also upset rising French player Arthur Fils in the first round, will play in the last 16. It is his furthest Grand Slam appearance in more than two years. He fired four times as many aces as Lehecka and ended the match with a service winner.

This season might not have been the best that I've had, but at least I wake up every single day, I'm happy that I don't have any pain, and I know I can go practice without any uncertainty of how my body is going to respond

· Stefanos TsitsipasHe described his physical condition after back problems affected his previous season.

Afterward, Tsitsipas saluted the crowd, telling an on-court interviewer, "you carried me through this match." The comment came after the interviewer pointed to the strong support from New York's Greek-American population.

The 28-year-old said he was pain-free after back problems derailed his 2025 season. "This season might not have been the best that I've had, but at least I wake up every single day, I'm happy that I don't have any pain, and I know I can go practice without any uncertainty of how my body is going to respond," he said.

I don't know if it is at the right time, but it is happening

· Stefanos TsitsipasHe discussed changes to his coaching team after ending his father's coaching role.

Tsitsipas was once viewed as an heir apparent to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but he has since been eclipsed by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. In June, he permanently ended his father Apostolos Tsitsipas's role as coach and began working with Thomas Perrin and Patrick Mouratoglou. "I don't know if it is at the right time, but it is happening," Tsitsipas said. "In Greece, we have a saying, 'It's better late than never,' so I go by that."

In Greece, we have a saying, 'It's better late than never,' so I go by that

· Stefanos TsitsipasHe explained his attitude toward the changes in his career.
About this summary

Originally published by The Express Tribune. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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