Jiri Lehecka vs Alexei Popyrin Preview & Prediction | 2026 Wimbledon Championships | First Round
Jiri Lehecka takes on Alexei Popyrin in the first-round of Wimbledon.
Start date/time:
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England
Surface: Outdoor grass
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Jiri Lehecka vs Alexei Popyrin prediction
Jiri Lehecka was a Queen’s Club finalist in 2025, but he could only reach the round-of-16 on this occasion as he lost to Rinky Hijikata in a deciding set tiebreak. A week earlier, he had match points against Ben Shelton in the Stuttgart Open quarter-finals, but the American would save them and go on to win the tournament. It’s still been a strong season for Lehecka, who reached his first ever Masters 1000 final in Miami.
He faces Alexei Popyrin in round one. The Australian suffered a surprising defeat to Arthur Fery in the first-round of Wimbledon last year. His struggles on grass seem to have continued this year, as he lost his opening round matches in Halle and Eastbourne to Raphael Collignon and Jan Choinski respectively.
Lehecka’s flat groundstrokes, heavy serve and net rushing abilities make him a difficult player to face on grass. Popyrin is not the player he once was on the tour, and the Czech is a pretty commanding favourite in this one.
Jiri Lehecka vs Alexei Popyrin tip: Under 38.5 games
