Damien Kayat previews Frances Tiafoe vs Jiri Lehecka and Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Richard Gasquet in Selected Round of 16 matches of the BOSS Open, on the 14th of June.
2022/23 ATP Tour
ATP 250 Series
BOSS Open
Tennis Club Weissenhof, Stuttgart, Germany (Outdoor Grass)
Selected Round of 16 Matches – 14th June
Frances Tiafoe 32/100 | Jiri Lehecka 23/10
A semi-finalist at last year’s US Open, Frances Tiafoe has translated that momentum into a very solid 2023 campaign. He currently has a highly respectable 23-9 win-loss record for the season.
He helped America clinch the inaugural United Cup before a brilliant semi-final run at Indian Wells. He then won his 2nd career title at the US Men’s Clay Court Championships. To be fair, his European clay-court jaunt was largely uneventful (though a 3rd round run at Roland Garros was encouraging).
You would have thought that a player with Tiafoe’s profile would have prospered on grass. But that has certainly not been the case. He is yet to reach a grass-court final and Wimbledon is the only Slam in which he hasn’t progressed beyond the 3rd round.
You would think he would prosper on these slick surfaces, getting plenty of purchase off his big serve and powerful forehand. It seems as if he struggles with the quick turnaround from clay to grass (particularly with the dearth of grass-court tennis these days).
Current Czech number 1 Jiri Lehecka has been one of those players who has risen nicely under the radar. Born into a sporting family- his father was a swimmer and his mother a celebrated track and field athlete- Lehecka dabbled with various sports but finally settled on tennis.
He had made steady progress over the last few years (he was eliminated in the first-round of all four Slams last year). But the Czech really announced himself to the world with a thunderous run to this year’s Aussie Open quarterfinals. He beat the likes of Norrie and Auger Aliassime in a scintillating display of ruthless shot-making.
He followed that up with a semi-final run in Qatar (where he registered his first top-5 win against Andrey Rublev). He recorded his best ever Masters 1000 finish with a round of 16 run in Monte-Carlo. Sure, he lost his way in the subsequent clay-court events.
But he doesn’t generate massive topspin and his game seems better tailored to faster surfaces. He exacted revenge on his French Open conqueror Marcos Giron in the first-round and I expect him to really challenge Tiafoe.
Verdict: Tiafoe to win in three in 51/20
This will be the first career meeting between these two. This should be an interesting clash. Tiafoe is obviously more experienced and will be the heavy favourite. But Lehecka’s consistent hitting could be troublesome for an error-prone Tiafoe.
I also think that Lehecka’s beautiful, sliced backhand can cause real problems to Tiafoe’s backhand wing. But I still think the American could pull through in three.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (1) (21/100) vs Richard Gasquet (33/10)
Greek number one seed Stefanos Tsitsipas set the tennis community ablaze with confirmation that he and Paula Badosa are dating. Will being part of this new tennis power-couple be a distraction for the Greek?
In any event, it has been a bit of a weird year for the two-time Grand Slam finalist. He is yet to win a tournament despite holding a highly creditable 31-9 record. He has endured two painful Grand Slam exits (the most recent of which a demolition at the hands of Alcaraz in Paris).
And this is certainly not the surface where he typically thrives. One would think a player with his serve, forehand and volleying skills would be an ideal grass-court fit. But he has always struggled with the switch from clay, battling with the quicker speed and lower bounce.
He has never gone beyond the 4th round at the Wimbledon Championships. Having said all that, he did win his maiden grass-court title in Mallorca last year. Can he turn his grass-court fortunes around this year?
You have to admire the resilience of 36-year-old Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman just moved up to T3 in the all-time Grand Slam appearances roster (he notched up his 70th Slam at this year’s French Open).
The owner of the world’s most aesthetically pleasing single-handed backhand began the year in fine style, winning his 16th career title in Auckland. Since then, it has been a bit of a grind for the Frenchman. In fact, he came into this event on a run of four consecutive tour-level losses.
But Gasquet- an adroit grass-court operator- dispatched of Christopher Eubanks in straight-sets in his opening match. A former two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist, Gasquet has always been fairly comfortable with these speedy surfaces.
He has three grass-court titles to his name (the last of which came at the 2018 Rosmalen Championships). He will always have a fighter’s chance on surfaces that allow him to manufacture short, concise points.
Verdict: Tsitsipas to win in three at 26/10
This will only be the 3rd career meeting between these two. They were scheduled to meet at this year’s Miami Open but the Frenchman withdrew. They share the head-to-head spoils 1-1 after exchanging victories back in 2018.
Tsitsipas won in Doha but Gasquet won their last match on the Rosmalen grass-courts. Gasquet will need to serve accurately and bring out all his variety. Expect him to throw in plenty of backhand slices to test Tsitsipas’ ability to adjust to the low bounce. I think Gasquet could nick the first set but the Greek should grow into the challenge and win in three.
