United Cup 2023: Taylor Fritz vs Jiri Lehecka Tennis Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2023 United Cup as Taylor Fritz takes on Jiri Lehecka in the Group Stage on Thursday, December 29th, 2022.

Taylor Fritz is the No. 1 ranked American male player and is widely expected to play an instrumental role in steering his country to success at the inaugural United Cup. But he faces a tricky opener against Czech Republic’s fast-rising star Jiri Lehecka. Who will prevail?

Taylor Fritz produced a fantastic season in 2022 by winning his biggest ATP title at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Rafael Nadal in the final. Fritz won over 40 matches at Tour level for the first time whilst he also collected two more ATP titles. He also reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time and ended the year by qualifying for the season-ending championships in Turin. Thanks to his sensational run at Tour level he became the number one ranked American in 2022 and he will be hoping to kick on in the upcoming season beginning with the United Cup.

It was not just Taylor Fritz who enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2022, but Czech youngster Jiri Lehecka also put together a decent season on the ATP Tour. The 21-year-old marked his arrival on the big stage by surprising the chasing pack at the Rotterdam Open in February. He reached his first ATP semifinal as a qualifier and became hungry for more success. Lehecka wouldn’t stop there. He cracked the world’s top 100 for the first time in his young career and qualified for the Next-Gen ATP finals in Milan where he finished runner-up to Brandon Nakashima.

Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka have not clashed at any tournament on the ATP Tour. Their encounter at the United Cup will be their first official meeting. Fritz is the more experienced player in this match and certainly possesses a more all-round game. He is clearly miles ahead of Lehecka in terms of craft and ability. Lehecka is still learning his trade but remains as steady and dangerous as ever. However, we reckon the world No. 9 will be too good for the Czech Next Gen star, and the USA will get on the board in this tie.