Aussie pulls off big shock at Queen’s Club Championship

By Ian Chadband

Rinky Hijikata has delivered one of his occasional super shows, the Australian No.6 earning his second shock win this season with his triumph at the Queen’s Club Championships over second seed Jiri Lehecka.

Sydney qualifier Hijikata came from a set down in Thursday’s (Friday AEST) second-round clash on the celebrated London club’s centre court, the Andy Murray Arena, to knock out Czech world No.12 Lehecka 4-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7) in a high-quality affair.

“That’s massive. I love playing on grass, so it feels like home being back here in London, and I love playing at this venue. So, yeah, I’m just pumped a bit here,” enthused Hijikata, who’s no stranger to pulling off the odd boilover, just as when he made Alexander Bublik his first top-10 victim in March at Indian Wells.

His come-from-behind success ensured Australia will have two men in Friday’s (Saturday AEST) quarter-finals of the event that’s rated second only to Wimbledon in terms of prestige among grass-court tournaments, with Alex de Minaur on the other side of the draw.

But whereas top seed de Minaur’s progress to the last-eight was to be expected, Hijikata, the world No.104 who has had to battle through two rounds of qualifying before defeating Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the first round, looked set to be overpowered as Lehecka took the opening stanza.

But playing at a level which demonstrated why he can always be a threat on this surface, having reached the quarter-finals at the same event in 2024, the 25-year-old Hijikata’s terrific defence, superior solidity and occasional moments of shotmaking inspiration started to get under Lehecka’s skin.

Then with nothing to choose between them in the deciding tiebreak and Hijikata appearing the physically stronger, he eked out four match points before Lehecka eventually deposited a weary return into the net after two hours and 48 minutes of gripping fare.

“It was all pretty difficult. I went down an early break in both the first and second sets,” sighed Hijikata.

“He didn’t make life easy. It was a tough match all the way through and then at the end, there was only a point or two difference.

“At the end, I was getting a bit tight, to be honest, I was just trying to stay with it as well as I could, and I’m just happy to get through.”

In the quarters, Hijikata will meet the winner of Hamad Medjedovic’s second-round match with France’s Ugo Humbert, with the pair locked at one-set all when play was suspended for bad light.

They’ll have to come back on Friday to finish their clash before the winner meets Hijikata later in the day, while de Minaur will play American Brandon Nakashima.

Earlier, Tommy Paul moved a step closer to reclaiming the Queen’s crown he won in 2024 by beating Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 and setting up a last-eight date with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who knocked out French maverick Corentin Moutet 6-4 6-3.

As well as bowing out, Moutet slammed his racquet into the pristine Queen’s turf, which is sure to earn him another fine to go with his burgeoning collection.