Jiri Lehka recorded a 6-4, 6-2 win over world No. 12 Alexander Zverev on the United Cup on Saturday to assist the Czech Republic open up a 2-0 lead over Germany.
The 21-year-old Leheka, ranked 81, broke 4 instances to bounce again from a gap singles loss to Taylor Fritz of the United States on Thursday of their Group C match on the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney. Marie Bouzkova later defeated Jule Niemeyer 6–2, 7–5 within the second match to offer the Czechs a 2–0 lead. Czech girls’s No. 1 Petra Kvitova may win the tie after she takes on Laura Siegmund on Sunday.
Zverev was competing for the primary time since June when he tore three ligaments in his proper ankle throughout his Roland Garros semifinal match towards Rafael Nadal.
“I knew before the match that he hasn’t played for a long time, but with a player like him, it doesn’t mean anything,” Leheka mentioned.
“In the crucial moments I showed all the experience of last year playing against good players.” In different matches, Brazil took a 2-0 lead over Norway in Brisbane on Saturday.
World fifteenth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia beat Norway’s Malene Helgo 6-4, 6-2 to enhance her event document to 2-0. Felipe Meligeni Alves beat Viktor Durasovic 6-3, 6-3 to offer Brazil his second win of the day.
Haddad Maia mentioned, “I was trying to be as aggressive as I could be.” “I used to be comfortable that I used to be affected person and giving myself probabilities . . . although I used to be lacking. I’m pleased with the best way I used to be pondering on this match. Nadal needed to play Cameron Norrie in singles when Spain later competed towards Britain in Sydney.
Two singles matches – one males’s and one girls’s – are performed over two days every, with the combined doubles ending the five-match encounter on the second day.
The inaugural United Cup sees groups from 18 nations competing in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney till 4 January. The three metropolis champions and the following best-placed nation from the group stage will meet on the Ken Rosewall Arena from 6 to eight January. Determine the general winner.
After matches ended on Friday, top-ranked Greece topped Group A with a 4-1 document, Switzerland topped Group B (5-0), the US topped Group C (4-1) Britain (3-2) tops Group D, Italy leads Group E with a 3-2 document, and France (5-0) leads Group F.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
