Despite taking a hard-hitting straight set loss to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Roland Garros, World No. 34 Jiri Lehecka won over the internet.
After being handed a humbling 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 loss by Sinner in the third round, the Czech player took to Instagram with a bit of humor and honesty, eliciting a plethora of reactions online.
Alongside a photo of himself all in action, Jiri Lehecka wrote, “This photo sums up the whole match. You think I won a match or a set? No, no. This is the feeling when you win 1 game against Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros.”
Though the caption was funny, it was also brutally honest. The match had barely lasted two hours, and Sinner didn’t let Lehecka breathe. Afterward, the 23-year-old Czech admitted it was like trying to play a mirror version of himself—only better.
“It was like I was playing against myself,” Lehecka said. “He was two times better than me in everything.”
Sinner, meanwhile, continues his red-hot form in Paris. The Italian star, who returned to the tour earlier this season after serving a brief doping suspension, hasn’t dropped a single set in the tournament so far.
Despite being away for a brief period of time, Jannik Sinner seems sharper, more focused, and even more composed than before. He has now reached the 4th round of the ongoing 2025 French Open.
After bagging another win, Sinner accepted that in these kinds of matches, things tend to change pretty quickly.
“Sometimes in these kinds of matches, things can change quickly,” Sinner said after the match. “If you don’t start well in one set, the match can go long, and then you cannot control it. You have to focus and keep the level very, very high, because unexpected things can happen.”
That’s not all; he even praised Lehecka’s game, “Jiri is an amazing player. He has shown that throughout his career. I try to control whatever I can, and today I did that.”
“This morning I felt the ball very good,” Sinner added. “But conditions can change from one moment to another.”
Next up for Sinner is a fourth-round meeting with Russia’s Andrey Rublev on Monday. It promises to be his toughest challenge so far at Roland Garros 2025. For now, Lehecka walks away with just three games—but a lot of respect for taking the loss like a champ and being honest about it.
