MELBOURNE, VIC - FEBRUARY 12: Taylor Fritz of the United States of America celebrates after winning a game during round 3 of the 2021 Australian Open on February 12 2020, at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire TENNIS: FEB 12 Australian Open Icon2102121865
World No. 9 Taylor Fritz begins the new season by taking on Jiri Lehecka in the group stage of the 2023 United Cup on Thursday.
The immensely talented American player had a great pre-season as he won the Diriyah Cup in Saudi Arabia. He defeated the likes of Hubert Hurkacz, Cameron Norrie, and defending champion Daniil Medvedev en route to winning the title.
Fritz had a fine season in 2022. He scalped three titles during the course of the year and won 46 singles matches while having lost 21. The American No. 1 made his debut at the ATP Finals this year. He did well to get past the group stages with wins against Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Fritz eventually lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the semifinals of the season-ending competition.
The youngster from the Czech Republic will have to bring his A-game, otherwise, the match could end in a hurry. There is no lack of talent in the 21-year-old though. He made his Grand Slam debut in 2022 at the Australian Open by progressing from the qualifiers. Lehecka also made it to the semifinals in his first ATP tour-level tournament – Rotterdam Open.
The world No. 81 played 32 matches on the tour in 2022. Out of them, he managed to win 13 matches while having lost 19. He is currently the No. 1 Czech tennis player. Lehecka will hope to give Fritz a good run for his money.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have never crossed paths as yet.
Prediction: Taylor Fritz to win in straight sets.
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