26-year-old Argentine Francesco Cerundolo is enjoying a fantastic season, currently ranked at a career-high 18th in the live ATP rankings.
2025 ATP Tour
ATP 500
Hamburg Open
Am Rothenbaum, Hamburg, Germany (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 16 Matches- 21st May
Francesco Cerundolo (4) vs Jiri Lehecka
The baseline-hugging Argentine has added a bit more dynamism to his strategy-based game, looking for more clean winners (especially on that forehand wing). That was certainly on display in the ‘Sunshine Double’, where the clay-court specialist reached back-to-back quarterfinals to highlight his growing reputation. The Argentine has once again excellent on the clay this year, reaching the semifinal stage or better in four events (finishing runner-up in Buenos Aires). His best showing of the year came in Madrid, where he beat top seed Alex Zverev en route to a 2nd career Masters semifinal finish. He impressed in his Hamburg Opener, dispatching Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-3 in a ruthless display of clay-court tennis. Cerundolo was particularly brutal on Martinez’s 2nd serve, winning a staggering 77% of his 2nd serve return points. The result improved his 2025 record to 27-11.
23-year-old Czech Jiri Lehecka needed to dig in during his Hamburg opener, fending off a Borna Gojo comeback to advance 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. It was a much-needed win for Lehecka, who came into this event on a three-match losing streak. This has been a Jekyll and Hyde campaign for the strategically astute Lehecka. He started the season in fantastic fashion, winning his 2nd career title in Brisbane before running into an inspired Djokovic in the 4th round of the Aussie Open. He was 10-1 before a thigh issue forced him to retire during his round of 16 clash with Hurkacz in Rotterdam. He bounced back to reach the semis in Qatar but hasn’t been the same man since, going 2-6 since Dubai. He seems to have lost some confidence (exacerbated by a variety of little niggles). He may feel emboldened by the resilience he showed against Gojo. Lest we forget, this is a man who reached the Madrid semis last year (where he was forced to retire due to a vertebrae issue). Lehecka is a guy who is made for the vagaries of clay. He is a solid mover who loves to mix things up from the baseline. He also doesn’t mind coming to the net to finish things off. He will be hoping to gain some confidence ahead of the year’s 2nd Grand Slam.
The Verdict: Cerundolo to win in three at – Lehecka leads the head-to-head 1-0, thrashing the Argentine at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. I have a feeling that Lehecka is going to be more competitive than many suspect. He survived a scare in his opener and will look to build on that. These clay surfaces are quicker than average and will reward Lehecka’s powerful groundstrokes. However, I think Cerundolo’s current clay-court prowess will prevail in what will be a true strategic battle.
