For the second consecutive year, a Czech player is making an unexpected appearance in the Miami Open final. And for a consecutive year, that player will be attempting to pull off a massive upset.
Jakub Mensik took down Novak Djokovic in the 2025 championship match. Twelve months later, Jiri Lehecka will take his shot against Jannik Sinner.
Sunday’s showdown marks their fifth meeting, and it is a head-to-head series that has been completely dominated by Sinner. The Italian has won all four of their previous encounters and is 9-0 in total sets after most recently destroying Lehecka 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 at the 2025 French Open. Only two of their nine sets have been more competitive than 6-3.
What’s to say that anything will change this time around? After all, Sinner is on an absolute roll right now. The world No. 2 is one win away from completing the Sunshine Double, having previously triumphed in Indian Wells. During his current 11-match winning streak, Sinner has not dropped a single set. In fact, he has won a hard-to-believe 32 consecutive sets at Masters 1000 events dating back to the Paris Masters this past fall.
Lehecka secured a spot in his first Masters 1000 final with victories over Moise Kouame, Ethan Quinn, Taylor Fritz, Martin Landaluce, and Arthur Fils. The world No. 22 brings a ton of firepower to the table — especially off the forehand side — but has not yet faced a defender of Sinner’s caliber. Fils was favored over Lehecka in the semis but came out flat following his epic quarterfinal win over Tommy Paul. The truth is that the 24-year-old has faced opponents who were either fatigued, less than 100 percent physically, or inexperienced.
In the final, Lehecka certainly won’t get any help from the other side of the net. It has been a good run for him, but in all likelihood it will end with a relatively uncompetitive loss.
Pick: Sinner in 2