Lehecka ends Landaluce’s fairytale to reach his first Miami semi-final
Jiri Lehecka ended Martín Landaluce’s fairytale with a composed 7-6(1), 7-5 win to reach his first Miami semi-final. The Czech is now No. 16 in the live rankings. The 20-year-old Spaniard leaves having done something no qualifier had done at this tournament in over 30 years.
Jiri Lehecka, Miami 2026 | © PsNewz
Czech seed No. 21 Jiri Lehecka ended the most improbable run of the Miami Open presented by Itau, beating Spanish qualifier Martín Landaluce 7-6(1), 7-5 on Wednesday to reach his first semi-final at the tournament and his second at Masters 1000 level.
It was a match decided by the finest of margins – the first set went to a tiebreak with both players having won exactly 39 points, and the second stretched to 7-5 as Landaluce saved three match points before eventually finding the net on a fourth.
One break of serve in the entire match, in the very last game. For long stretches it was the story of a 20-year-old refusing to go quietly. In the end, experience and serve quality told.
“Today was super tough,” Lehecka said after the match. “It is never easy to play against an opponent who has nothing to lose. He played incredibly. He played some unbelievable shots in crucial moments. Every time I had a break point he went for it and deserved those points.”
The win took Lehecka to No. 16 in the live rankings, matching his career high, and made him the fifth Czech man to reach multiple Masters 1000 semi-finals. He will face the winner of the match between French seed No. 28 Arthur Fils and American seed No. 22 Tommy Paul.
The end of a remarkable week for Landaluce
Landaluce leaves Miami with his head up and his ranking transformed. The 20-year-old, who arrived in Florida without a tour-level win in 2026 and ranked No. 151, exits at No. 103. He beat seed No. 17 Luciano Darderi, seed No. 14 Karen Khachanov, seed No. 32 Sebastian Korda – the man who had just eliminated world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz – and reached the quarter-finals as the lowest-ranked player at this tournament since Jim Grabb, ranked No. 185, in 1994. He was also the first player born in 2006 or later to reach the last eight at a Masters 1000 event.
His previous rounds en route to the quarter-finals also included victories over American Marcos Giron 6-3, 7-6(6) and Italian seed No. 17 Luciano Darderi 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4.
