#NextGenATP Czech Lehecka Advances In Stockholm
#NextGenATP Czech Jiri Lehecka earned his first tour-level win since July on Tuesday, when he edged Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5) to reach the second round at the Stockholm Open.
The 20-year-old, who is making his debut in Stockholm, held his nerve in the crucial moments against Dimitrov as he recovered from squandering a break advantage in the third set to triumph after two hours and 25 minutes.
Lehecka will be aiming for a deep run at the ATP 250 event as he looks to increase his chances of qualifying for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held from 8-12 November. He is currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan on 630 points, more than 200 points ahead of Dominic Stricker, who is in 10th. With two weeks of the Race to go, the expected cut to qualify is 10th spot.
Lehecka will next face Emil Ruusuvuori after the Finn defeated Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-2. Earlier this season, Lehecka reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam before he captured an ATP Challenger Tour crown in Liberec.
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Alex de Minaur earned his 150th tour-level win on Tuesday when he cruised past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-3, 6-1 to reach the second round.
The Australian suffered a disappointing first-round exit in Tokyo earlier this month but bounced back in style against Bonzi, striking 19 winners to advance after 77 minutes at the ATP 250 event.
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De Minaur now leads the 26-year-old 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. The fifth seed, who is making his second appearance in Stockholm, will next play American J.J. Wolf or Slovakian Alex Molcan. The World No. 23 is seeking his second tour-level title of the season this week after triumphing in Atlanta.
In other action, Swiss qualifier Antoine Bellier defeated qualifier Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 6-2 in 82 minutes. The 26-year-old Bellier, who won an ATP Challenger Tour title earlier this season, will next face fourth seed Denis Shapovalov.