Lehecka’s ‘incredible feeling’ after returning from back injury

Jiri Lehecka’s victory Tuesday at the Cincinnati Open was more significant than the 17 others he has won this season. The Czech’s clash with Mariano Navone was his first match since early May, when he retired in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“It was an incredible feeling,” Lehecka told ATPTour.com. “The most important thing was to feel healthy again and not feel any pain, which happened today. I had no pain. I felt good physically on the court, which was the most important thing for me, and winning was just a bonus.”

After Madrid, Lehecka’s medical team discovered a stress fracture in a vertebra. A major blow for a player at the top of his game, in a position to fight for the biggest title of his career.

“I’ve had back problems since the beginning of the clay-court season. So basically it got worse during the whole tournament in Madrid. I thought it was okay, because I withdrew from Monaco and Barcelona the last two weeks. I didn’t play at all. I was just doing a little bit of rehab and stuff,” Lehecka said. “All the signals and scans showed us that my back was fine and I was ready to play and everything was fine.

“I felt good, but in my first match in Madrid I started to feel pain in that area again. It got worse throughout the tournament and unfortunately it ended in my semi-final against Felix.”

This year’s Adelaide champion hasn’t picked up a racquet for more than two months. Going from an ATP Masters 1000 title to two wins ahead and staying home every day has been a tough transition.

“This kind of injury is very serious because you can’t do anything. You just have to lie down. You can just walk a little bit. You’re limited in all the normal movements that you’re used to,” Lehecka said. “Having a racket in your hand was not an option for me. Just going for a run or going to the gym was not an option. I wasn’t able to do all those things, so it wasn’t easy for me, also mentally, because I’m a very active person.”

“I like doing activities, playing other sports, etc. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to get through it.”

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On the plus side, Lehecka was able to spend time with friends and family back home, something he doesn’t usually get to see as he travels the world. The Czech stayed with friends and vice versa. “It was fun,” Lehecka said. “But at the same time, day after day, I was really looking forward to getting back on the court.”

One of the trickiest aspects of the Czech’s absence is that he was not in constant pain. But the risk of aggravating his injury was great.

“In my normal life off the tennis court, I could do whatever I wanted. I was always like, ‘Guys, I can go to the gym, I can go for a run, I don’t feel any pain,’” Lehecka said. “Everybody was like, ‘No, no, you can’t do it.’ What the doctors told me was, ‘Be careful, this injury is a*****,’ meaning it’s going to feel like nothing’s happening, but at the same time, you have to give it a lot of time to recover properly and rest the area.”

^{Photo: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}

While he was away, Lehecka got a tattoo of two intertwined lines that covered much of his right arm. It was something he had wanted since before his injury.

“That’s the kind of tattoo I like. It doesn’t really have a meaning,” Lehecka said. “But I always like to say that those two lines represent my social life, with my family, my friends, but also with life on the tour, tennis, coaches and everyone connecting, being stronger together.”

Tomas Berdych, a member of his team and former world number 4, gave him valuable advice on how to stay focused. “Tomas Berdych told me: ‘Don’t rush, don’t rush. You’re going to have a lot of tennis very, very soon. So make a time for it. Don’t let tennis overwhelm you when you’re not on the court,’” he recalls.

Lehecka returned to the tennis court for the first time on July 7, a date he always marked on his phone calendar.

“I remember it was like a 10-15 minute discussion with my coach (Michal Navratil). We were smiling at each other, looking at each other, telling each other how terrible it was,” Lehecka said, cracking a smile. “It was normal after such a long period of not doing anything. It wasn’t easy, but little by little we got back to the level we wanted to be at and I still feel like I’m getting better every day.”

Lehecka is now back and raring to go. He will face former world number one Daniil Medvedev in the second round in Cincinnati.

“For me, the most important thing is to feel better every day, to feel good on the court, to have confidence and to gain confidence with all these matches that are ahead of me,” Lehecka said. “So that’s my goal. And of course, to be healthy and play without pain. That’s the number one goal. And then, of course, we’ll see.”

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