Preview: Madrid Open: Jiri Lehecka vs. Lorenzo Musetti- prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

A place in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open will be up for grabs on Tuesday when Jiri Lehecka and Lorenzo Musetti square off in a singles match for the fourth time.

To get to this point, Lehecka beat Alex Michelsen 6-4 6-2, while his upcoming Italian opponent got past Tallon Griekspoor 6-4 7-5.

Match preview

After being pushed to a decisive third set in his opener, Jiri Lehecka was a lot more decisive while cleaning up his errors from match one on Sunday.

The 11th-seeded player on the men’s draw did not have a single double fault in the round of 32 and won 77% of his first serves.

He also converted three of his six break point opportunities and did not concede any himself to make the last 16 of this event for the first time since 2024.

That year, he got all the way to the semi-finals, upsetting legendary Spanish player Rafael Nadal in the round of 16, 7-5 6-4.

In three of his last four appearances in this round of an ATP singles tournament, the player from Czechia has advanced, though he was beaten by Alexander Bublik in that phase of the Monte Carlo Open earlier this year.

On clay, Lehecka has won over 80% of his service games in 2026, while winning 71% of his first serve points overall.

Musetti is a step away from getting to a second consecutive singles tournament quarter-final, thanks in part to his service game.

On Sunday, he won 78% of his first serves while boasting a first serve percentage of 68% in his matchup with the Dutchman.

Meanwhile, he captured four of his nine break point opportunities and only registered two double faults throughout his last match.

His previous round of 16 clash on clay in 2026 saw him oust Corentin Moutet in straight sets at the most recent Barcelona Open.

The French Open quarter-finalist from a year ago has not lost a singles match on clay since the 2025 edition of that Grand Slam, when he retired in the semi-finals versus Carlos Alcaraz.

This year, he has been able to rescue over 70% of his break points and won 83% of his service games on clay so far.

Tournament so far

Jiri Lehecka:

Round of 64: vs. Alejandro Tabilo 3-6 7-6 (7-43) 6-4

Round of 32: vs. Alex Michelsen 6-4 6-2

Lorenzo Musetti:

Round of 64: vs. Hubert Hurcasz 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Round of 32: vs. Tallon Griekspoor 6-4 7-5

Head To Head

Rotterdam Open (2022) - Quarter-finals: Lehecka wins 6-3 1-6 7-5

ATP Masters Miami (2023) - Round of 64: Lehecka wins 6-4 6-4

ATP Masters Monte Carlo (2025) - Round of 32: Musetti wins 1-6 7-5 6-2

When these two first squared off in Rotterdam a few years ago, it took just over two hours for Lehecka to triumph, thanks to his 28 winners and a 75% first-serve success rate.

The following year, when they met in Miami, it was the upstart Czech who had the edge again, converting two of his break point opportunities while winning 76% of his net points.

Their encounter in the Principality last year went the way of Musetti, who benefitted from Lehecka’s eight double faults, with the Italian winning 70% of his first serves.

We say: Lehecka to win in three sets

This is a match that could go either way, and one we anticipate will go down to the wire, with neither giving an inch.

That said, we trust Lehecka’s ability to dig in when needed, while he appears to be a little cleaner in his overall game right now when compared to Musetti.