Shanghai Masters 1000: Lehecka Too Strong for Halys, Czech Advances to Third Round

Struggling in recent weeks, Quentin Halys could do nothing to thwart the plans of a solid Jiri Lehecka.
The first French player in action this Saturday in the second round of the Shanghai Masters 1000, Quentin Halys had a tough match to play against Jiri Lehecka.

After his victory against Mackenzie McDonald (6-3, 6-2), the Frenchman was now facing the world number 19, who was making his debut in the tournament this year. A quarterfinalist in the last two Masters 1000 events, the Czech is a formidable opponent.

In this first encounter between the two players, the higher-ranked player took control. Solid on his service games, as he did not concede a single break point, Lehecka settled for one break in each set.

After breaking in the very first game of the first set, the 23-year-old player had to wait until 5-5 in the second set to break his opponent's serve and secure the win in straight sets (6-4, 7-5 in 1 hour and 24 minutes).

After reaching the third round in Shanghai last year, Lehecka repeats the feat this year. For a spot in the round of 16, he will face either Denis Shapovalov or Christopher O’Connell.

As for the Frenchman, he suffers his eighth defeat in his last ten matches and continues to slide down the rankings. Ranked 46th in the world a few weeks ago, Halys temporarily drops out of the top 75 in the Live Rankings.