Austrian Open Kitzbuhel: Jiri Lehecka beats Thiago Monteiro in the opening round

Jiri Lehecka had had a fantastic season on the hard courts. He continued his excellent performance on the clay court by recording a victory on his debut at the ATP 250 event. The 20-year-old Czechian raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, but Monteiro roared into the game to send the first set into a tiebreak. He held off against the Brazillian to save a set point before winning the opener 8-6.

Jiri Lehecka served ten aces, won 82% of the points on the first serve and broke the serve of his Brazillian opponent three times off five opportunities in comparison to four aces, 75% of the on the first serve and broke the serve of Lehecka two times from three opportunities. 

After a hard-fought first set, Jiri Lehecka remained dominant on his serve to secure a second-round spot after one hour and 46 minutes of play. He will next lock horns with eighth seed João Sousa of Portugal in a second-round clash on July 27. 

2017 Austrian Open finalist João Sousa advanced to the next round after beating Vít Kopřiva of the Czech Republic in straight sets 6-1, 7-5 in one hour and 30 minutes. It was the first tour-level victory for the 33-year-old Portuguese veteran since winning in the opening round of the French Open earlier this year.

In another men’s singles match, Federico Coria of Argentina secured a straight-set 6-4, 7-5 victory against Wimbledon quarterfinalist Cristian Garin of Chile. The 30-year-old Argentine gave an impressive performance to extend his winning streak against Cristian Garin to three matches. He served two aces, won 70% of the points on the first serve and broke the serve of his Chilean opponent four-time off of eight opportunities to advance to the second round.

Federico Coria will face Pedro Martínez of Spain for a quarterfinal spot on July 26.