Jiri Lehecka has successfully overcome a mid-season crisis that troubled him during the European clay swing, when he seemed short on both confidence and fitness and repeatedly lost tight matches. Since then, he has recovered well, produced several strong, consistent runs, and established himself as one of the steadier performers of the season.
The 23-year-old has become only the sixth player this season, after Carlos Alcaraz, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev, and Jannik Sinner, to record 40 or more wins on the main tour. In doing so, he also became the first Czech player to reach the 40-win milestone since his former coach, Tomas Berdych, back in 2015.
Lehecka’s impressive work over the past few months has been rewarded with a career-high ranking of No. 16, and he has now given himself the perfect platform to push further up the rankings in the months ahead. He began the European indoor swing with a runner-up finish in Brussels last week and now carries that momentum into Basel, where his debut campaign in 2024 ended in the opening round, leaving him with plenty of room to gain valuable ranking points.
Botic van de Zandschulp, with all his experience and solid ability on indoor hard courts, has the tools to make the most of this stretch and rediscover the form he has been searching for in recent years. However, he has yet to show the readiness to capitalize. He was bageled by underdog Eliot Spizziri in the second round in Brussels last week and then fell to Reilly Opelka in the final round of Basel qualifying, entering the main draw only as a lucky loser.
The Dutchman, who has recorded over 100 career wins on indoor hard courts, is also well-acquainted with Basel, where he holds a perfect 3-0 record in first-round matches. All three of his previous defeats at this venue came against top-tier opponents: Carlos Alcaraz in 2022, Felix Auger-Aliassime in 2023, and Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2024. He now begins his 2025 campaign with yet another tough opening test against a top-20 player.
Head-to-head: Jiri Lehecka leads 2-0. Lehecka enters this match after a long week in Brussels, where he played a three-set final on Sunday, which could leave him slightly vulnerable. However, it would still require a strong and sustained effort from Botic van de Zandschulp—something he has struggled to deliver in recent weeks—to truly capitalize on that. Whether he can rise to that level remains doubtful.
