Fils wastes a match point but battles past Lehecka for his first Cincinnati last 16
Arthur Fils wasted a match point against Jiri Lehecka in Cincinnati but recovered to win in three sets, extending his 2026 dominance over the Czech and reaching the last 16 for the first time at the tournament.
Arthur Fils, Cincinnati 2026 | © SPP / PsNewz
Frenchman Arthur Fils, the No 21 seed, wasted a match point in a second-set tie-break but recovered to beat Czech Jiri Lehecka, the No 9 seed, 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-3 and reach the last 16 of the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday night.
Fils will next face Australian Alex de Minaur, the No 5 seed, for a place in the quarterfinals.
It is Fils’s fifth Masters 1000 last-16 of the season and his first at Cincinnati. The result also extended his hold over Lehecka: the pair have now met four times in 2026, with the Frenchman winning three (Doha, Madrid, Cincinnati) despite his loss in Miami’s semi-final.
Fils set the tone immediately, breaking for 5-1 in the first set on the back of a forehand winner ripped from the corner after a lengthy backhand exchange, and closed it out 6-1 inside half an hour. Lehecka steadied in the second, forcing a tie-break in which he raced to a 5-1 lead.
Fils clawed his way back and earned a match point of his own – which would have sealed the match in straight sets – but Lehecka saved it and leveled at a set apiece. Both men then struggled to hold serve early in the decider, but Fils proved sharper at the break points that mattered; a first match point went out on his backhand, and he needed a second to close it out 6-3.
The win continued a resurgence for Fils, who withdrew from Roland-Garros and carried a hip scare into Washington earlier this year. His level in Cincinnati recalled the form that took him to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and the semifinals in Miami, and keeps him in the Race to Turin conversation despite not having played a Grand Slam this season.
Fils reached this round by beating German Yannick Hanfmann 7-6 (5), 6-1. Lehecka, ranked No 14, had gotten past Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3 in the previous round.
Cincinnati Masters 1000 3rd Round
- A. Zverev (1) vs T. Atmane: 7-6, 7-6
- T. Paul (18) vs A/ Vallejo: 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
- R. Jodar (12) vs A. Tabilo (22): 6-2, 6-1
- F. Cobolli (7) vs A. Blockx (28): 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
- T. Tirante vs M. Arnaldi (31): 7-6, 7-6
- Mensik (14) vs R. Hijikata: 6-3, 6-4
- A. Fils (21) vs J. Lehecka (9): 6-1, 6-7, 6-3
- A. de Minaur (5) vs A. Fery (32): 7-5, 7-6
- T. Fritz (6) vs D. Merida: 6-1, 6-7, 6-3
- C. O’Connell d. Fonseca (23): WO
- A. Rublev (13) vs N. Borges
- B. Nakashima (27) vs D. Medvedev (4)
- J. Faria vs A. Walton
- M. Zheng vs L. Musetti (10)
- L. Tien (16) vs F. Tiafoe (17)
- J. Cerundolo vs F. Auger-Aliassime (2)
