Today on May 2nd we’ll see only one quarter-final as Sinner just withdrew due to injury. Late tonight third seed Daniil Medvedev is ready to clash with Jiri Lehecka for a place in the Madrid Open semi-finals.
Medvedev have played some tough matches so far in Madrid and spent a lot of hours on court. He survived 3-set wins over Matteo Arnaldi and Sebastian Korda, having to recover from a set down in both matches. In the fourth round he defeated Alexander Bublik 7-6(3), 6-4 in another tough encounter.
The experienced Russian is not the biggest fan of the clay surface but this time he’s on a nice run in Madrid. He seems to get the job done in most cases, winning the important points, without playing at a very high level.
Lehecka impressive vs Nadal
Meanwhile, Lehecka played home favorite Rafael Nadal to a stadium packed with home fans, coming out with a 7-5, 6-4 win. It should be mentioned that he recently recovered from a back injury but seems to have found the clay rhythm fast and this Madrid Masters tournament is his first clay court event of the season for him.
He controlled the King of Clay with some nice serving and cool nerves in the important parts of the game. Can he keep this level up in the quarter-final? The 22-year-old Czech has looked consistent and strong in all matches so far and he will be a real challenge to Medvedev today.
H2H Stats
Medvedev and Lehecka have tussled only once on the ATP Tour with Medvedev winning 6-4, 6-2 at Wimbledon last year. The Russian is currently at 20 career titles vs Lehecka’s one.
Predictions for Medvedev vs Lehecka
Medvedev is a tricky one, he has lacked consistency from the back court and has been below par in his serve. However, he’s shown incredible fighting spirit and perseverance.
Lehecka has a wide array of shots and has been in great form on the clay courts, he has a decent chance there at around 2.38 | +137.5 at most sportsbooks. Interesting bets:
- Lehecka to win at least one set – Odds 1.52 | -200
- Lehecka +2.5 Game Handicap – Odds 1.83 | -120
