UnitedCup
ADELAIDE, Australia — Australia in January suits Jiri Lehecka. Last year, he reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
On Saturday, the seventh-seeded Czech beat unseeded Briton Jack Draper 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in Adelaide International final to win his first ATP Tour title.
Sixth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko had a more comfortable push for victory as she secured her seventh WTA tour title with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Daria Kasatkina in a night match.
The 22-year-old Lehecka beat third-seeded Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals to reach his second tour final. Draper also was playing in his second final and his second in succession after losing to Adrian Mannarino in the final of the Sofia Open in November.
Saturday’s final was a contest of big hitters in which Lehecka served eight aces, Draper seven. That was indicative of a close match, which lasted 2 hours, 8 minutes.
“It’s hard for me to say something because it is so emotional for me to win my first title here in Adelaide,” Lehecka said. “I’m super excited.”
Lehecka is the first Czech to win an ATP title since Jiri Vesely in Pune in 2020. Saturday’s win will boost his ranking by nine places to 23.
Lehecka will play Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain in the first round of the Australian Open while Draper will play Marcos Giron of the United States.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko tuned up for the Australian Open with an impressive straight-set victory in 74 minutes against last year’s finalist Kasatkina.
Her first title on hardcourts since Dubai in 2002 marked her return to the top 10 for the first time in five years in what has been a perfect lead up week to the Australia Open starting Sunday.
The Latvian player powered 32 winners to Kasatkina’s 12 and made decisive breaks in each set which kept Kasatkina constantly on the back foot.
Kasatkina had advanced to the final after second-seeded Jessica Pegula withdrew with a gastrointestinal illness. It was the second consecutive walkover for Kasatkina, after Laura Siegemund withdrew ahead of their quarterfinal due to a left leg injury.
The 26-year-old Ostapenko is seeded No. 11 for the Australian Open in Melbourne and will play wild-card Kimberly Birrell in the first round. Ostapenko reached the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park last year.
Kasatkina is the 14th seeded player and will play No. 48 Peyton Stearns of the United States in the first round at the major.
Navarro wins maiden tour title at Hobart
Second-seeded American Emma Navarro claimed her first WTA Tour title in her first final Saturday when she beat two-time champion, top-seeded Elise Mertens 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 to win the Hobart International.
The 22-year-old Navarro outlasted Mertens of Belgium over 2 hours, 48 minutes to continue her extraordinary rise over the past 12 months.
She is the second-straight American champion after Lauren Davis in 2023.
Navarro was ranked No. 149 this time last year but the New Yorker now has risen to No. 31. She also made the semifinals in Auckland last week in an impressive start to 2024. She currently is 8-1 for the season.
“I don’t know if I could put words to the emotions but it’s been a lot of years in the making,” Navarro said. “My coach and I have been together for eight years, I think. From where we started to now, it’s really crazy to think about.
“Probably six, seven years ago, I was hoping to be a decent college player and that was going to be good enough for me. So to be here now, it’s really crazy and I guess just a testament to the work we’ve both put in.”
Navarro is the 27th seeded player at next week’s major and will play Wang Xiyu of China in the first round in her Australian Open debut.
The 28-year-old Mertens will be seeded No. 25 in Melbourne and will play Egypt’s Mayar Sherif in the first round. She reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2018 after winning the Hobart title for the second time.