Jiri Lehecka reached the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo. In the Japan Open semifinals on hard courts, the Czech beat eighth seed Valentin Vacherot of Monaco 6-4, 6-2, winning both sets (source: api.tennis). The prize money at the tournament is $2.4 million.
The match did not go to a third set, and the gap between the players widened in the second set. Lehecka won the first set by two games. In the second, the margin grew to four, and Vacherot took only two games in that set.
Road to the semifinals
Lehecka opened the tournament with a three-set win over Zizou Bergs, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. In the round of 16, he beat Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, again bouncing back after dropping a set. In the quarterfinal, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo fell 6-1, 6-1, the shortest match on the Czech's way to the semifinals.
Vacherot's path was no easier. He beat Alexander Blockx in straight sets, but both were decided by tiebreaks, 7-6, 7-6. In the round of 16, the Monegasque defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, and in the quarterfinal he got past Arthur Fils 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. He won both of those matches in three sets.
According to rank.tennis, Lehecka is ranked No. 16 with 2340 points. Vacherot is No. 34 with 1430 points. The players have met before: in 2025 in Paris, Lehecka won 6-1, 6-3.