No matter what happened in the 2026 Miami Open quarterfinal match between Martin Landaluce and Jiri Lehecka, both could leave the event thinking it had been a success. The Spaniard had jumped up 48 spots in the live ATP rankings even before playing the Czech. Lehecka had moved up, too, but not quite as much. He had less room for upward mobility.
They might have also both announced to the rest of tennis that they are ready to take a step toward being a long-term dangerous threat. Landaluce entered Miami with a career record of just 2-14, but he was also only 20 years old.
Lehecka had more relative success, but was in a position to reach a semifinal for the first time at any Grand Slam or Masters 1000 event that was played on a hard court. Should he beat Landaluce, he would equal a career-high ranking of 16.
Jiri Lehecka overcomes Martin Landaluce at the 2026 Miami Open
The first set was exceedingly close, each winning exactly 39 points as it reached 6-all. While it took an hour to play, the only aspect that implied the eventual outcome was Lehecka getting four break points, none of which he could convert. The Czech never faced a break point on his service games.
If the 20-year-old Landaluce was feeling any nerves, it didn't fully show as he fought off those break points, but in the tie-break, it might have. Lehecka jumped out to a quick lead that Landaluce could never come close to matching, winning only a point in the decider.
Still, he had to feel that he had a real chance to win the match, though an early break in the second set would have helped. The issue was that nothing he did in set one made anyone, likely including himself, think that the Czech could be broken. He has had a magnificent serve throughout the Miami Open.
In the second set, however, Lehecka began to struggle a bit. Serving at 2-all, the Czech faced his first break point, but he was able to survive and move ahead. He dropped to 15-30 on his next service game, but was able to take that one too. Landaluce, the far less experienced player, simply could not capitalize.
Each player kept booming the forehands (Landaluce averaged 81 mph from that wing well into the second set), but neither would wilt. Lehecka's serve even kept getting faster, hitting 137 mph when taking a 5-4 lead in the second set. The match appeared to be heading toward another tie-break by that point.
The tension of the match ticked up with Landaluce serving at 5-6. Jiri Lehecka hit several amazing passing shots and had four match points. Martin Landaluce was also struggling to land his first serve, putting himself into a bad position.
Finally, on the fourth match point, the young Spaniard hit a shot long, and Lehecka was into the semifinals by taking the second set 7-5. The semi is the Czech's best showing at the Miami Open, and matches his best run at any Masters 1000.
Lehecka will next play the winner of the quarterfinal match between Arthur Fils and Tommy Paul. As well as Lehecka is serving and hitting his forehand, he is going to be a tough out for anyone he plays.