Australian Open No 11 seed Cameron Norrie will play unseeded player Jiri Lehecka on Friday at Melbourne Park in the Grand Slam’s third round. Norrie is the No 12 ranked player in the world according to the ATP and matched his best performance at the Australian Open by reaching the third round.
Lehecka has already achieved his best performance in an Australian Open tournament by reaching the third round of the competition. The 21-year-old is ranked No 71 in the world according to the ATP. Lehecka will have the chance to achieve one of his biggest tour wins on Friday against Norrie.
Norrie goes into round three after defeating Constant Lestienne in four sets on Wednesday. The British tennis player struggled early in the match, dropping the first set 6-3. Norrie was able to rebound with a 6-3 win in set No 2 as Lestienne imploded, handing the initiative to the No 11 seed.
Lehecka pulled off an upset in the first round by knocking off No 21 seed Borna Coric. It was a remarkable feat as Lehecka defeated Coric in straight sets. He followed up the win with a victory over wildcard Chris Eubanks. Can Lehecka pull off another upset and defeat Norrie on Friday?
Cameron Norrie vs Jiri Lehecka Odds
Norrie has the 10th-best odds to win the Australian Open this season at 40/1. Bookmakers are giving him a chance to win the tournament, although the likes of Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune are the three favourites at the time of writing.
Norrie will need to avoid the poor start he displayed against Lestienne in round two. He lost the first set 6-3 and struggled in the second set. However, Lestienne’s mistakes enabled Norrie to come back and eventually win the match in three sets.
Bookmakers expect Norrie to pick up the victory and have him priced at odds of 1/3 to win the match. Lehecka is at the best betting odds of 12/5 to win the match. The Czech Republic player only turned pro in 2020 but in a short time, has played well in professional tennis. So far, Lehecka is finding his feet in Grand Slam tennis events.
Norrie’s experience in big-time matches could be the difference between a win and a loss on Friday. Both players started the Grand Slam winning in three sets, but round two saw Norrie and Lehecka pushed to four sets. While Norrie had to come from behind, Lehecka was in control for most of his match against Eubanks.
Two strong, young tennis players will play this match and it could go all the way to five sets. The match is at odds of 5/2 to go to five sets.
Cameron Norrie vs Jiri Lehecka H2H
The odds offered by bookmakers are likely influenced by the previous matches the two tennis players had. Norrie and Lehecka have played twice before with the former winning both fixtures. The pair met in the 2021 Davis Cup Finals with Norrie winning 6-1, 2-6, and 6-1.
They met again earlier this season in 2023 in the Auckland Open. The match went to three sets with Norrie winning 6-4, 6-7, and 6-3. Both best-of-three matches went the distance, so could their best-of-five match go the distance too?
Lehecka played in the United Cup in early January in Australia. He had two matches in the round-robin tournament, losing in straight sets to Taylor Fritz and defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets. Then it was on to the Auckland open. Lehecka started in the first qualifying round, defeating Jan Choinski, coming back from one set down to win 2-1. Victories over Facundo Bagnis and Thiago Monteiro followed before losing to Norrie.
Norrie also played in the United Cup. He won all three of his matches defeating Alex de Minaur, Rafael Nadal, and Fritz. In the Auckland Open, Norrie reached the final, where he lost to Richard Gasquet. It has already been a strong 2023 season for Norrie with eight wins and one loss. Lehecka has posted five wins and two defeats.
Along with a better record in 2023, Norrie has played stronger opponents including Nadal. The British player continues to improve as a professional.
Cameron Norrie vs Jiri Lehecka Betting Tips
Norrie is in great form ahead of his third-round fixture with Lehecka. The British player is at odds of 1/3 to win the match and should pick up the win. How Norrie gets to the victory is open to debate. Lehecka has played well at the Australian Open. His first-round win over Borna Coric was a shock, especially winning the match in three sets. Lehecka was again strong in the second round with a 3-1 win over Chris Eubanks.
Norrie cannot afford to start the match slowly as he did against Lestienne. The British player benefitted from Lestienne falling apart in the second set. Norrie wasn’t great in round two and made plenty of mistakes. Lehecka could take advantage of mistakes if Norrie continues to make them.
Three of Norrie’s four titles on the ATP Tour came on hardcourt. It is his preferred surface to play on. Norrie has an overall record of 106-75 on hardcourt. He has played more on hardcourt than on any other surfaces.
Lehecka’s ATP Tour career is still in its infancy. He played 38 times on the tour before competing in this year’s Australian Open. Twenty-four of those matches were played on hardcourt before the Australian Open started this month. Lehecka has a record of 11-13 on the surface.
Norrie has twice defeated Lehecka in their previous meetings. Both matches were played on hardcourt, with one of those fixtures being played earlier this year in Auckland. Norrie needs to avoid the mistakes he made against Lestienne. If he can start well, Norrie should post a win. However, Lehecka will make Norrie work for the victory. Our betting tips prediction is for the match to go five sets with Norrie winning 3-2. Norrie is at odds of 9/2 to win 3-2.
