Lehecka's 'amazing feeling' after return from back injury

Jiri Lehecka’s victory on Tuesday at the Cincinnati Open was more meaningful than the other 17 wins he has earned this season. The Czech’s clash with Mariano Navone was his first match since early May when he retired from the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Lehecka told ATPTour.com. “The most important thing was just to feel healthy again and not to feel any pain, which I must say happened today. I was totally pain free. I felt good on court physically, which was the most important thing for me, and the fact that I won was just a bonus.”

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

“I was struggling with my back since the beginning of the clay season. So basically it got worse and worse during the whole Madrid tournament. I kind of thought that it was okay, because I pulled out of Monaco, I pulled out of Barcelona these two weeks. I didn't play at all. I was just doing some rehab and stuff,” Lehecka said. “All the signals and scans showed us that the back was all right and that I was ready to go and it was alright.

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

This year’s Adelaide champion did not touch a racquet again for more than two months. From being two wins away from an ATP Masters 1000 title to sitting home every day was a difficult transition.

“This kind of injury is bad in a way that you cannot do anything. You just need to lay down. You can just walk a bit. You are restricted from all the normal movements you are used to doing,” Lehecka said. “Having a racquet in my hand was not an option for me. To have a simple run or to go to the gym was not an option. All these things I was not able to do, so it wasn't easy for me, also mentally, because I'm a very active person.

“I enjoy my time doing some activities, doing other sports and stuff. So it wasn't easy, but I managed to get through it.”

On the positive side, Lehecka was able to spend time with friends and family at home he never usually has the ability to see because he is traveling the world. The Czech would stay at friends’ homes and vice versa. “That was fun,” Lehecka said. “But at the same time, day by day, I was very eager to go back on court.”

One of the trickiest parts of the Czech’s time away is that he was not in constant pain. But the threat of aggravating his injury loomed large.

“In my normal life outside of the tennis court, I was able to do anything I wanted. I was always saying, 'Guys, I can go to gym, I can go to run, I don't feel any pain’,” Lehecka said. “Everyone was [saying], 'No, no, you cannot do it'. What the doctors told me is, 'Be careful, this injury is a b****' in terms of, you will feel that there is nothing happening, but at the same time, you need to give it so much time to recover well and to rest the spot.”

^{Photo: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}
While away, Lehecka got a tattoo of two intertwining lines covering much of his right arm. It was something he had wanted since well before his injury.

“That's the kind of tattoo I like. It doesn't really have any meaning,” Lehecka said. “But I always like to say that these two lines are like my social life, with family, friends, also with the life on Tour, tennis, coaches and everyone connecting together, being stronger together.”

A member of his team, former World No. 4 Tomas Berdych, provided helpful advice to keep Lehecka focused. “Tomas Berdych told me, 'Don't rush, don't rush. You will have plenty of tennis very, very soon. So make some spot in your mind for it. Don't overwhelm yourself with the tennis when you are not on court’,” he recalled.

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

“I remember it was like a 10, 15-minute hit with my coach [Michal Navratil]. We were just basically smiling at each other, looking at each other, saying how terrible it was,” Lehecka said, cracking a smile. “That was normal after such a long time of doing nothing. It wasn't easy, but step by step, we got back to the level we wanted to and I still feel like I'm improving day by day.”

Now Lehecka is back and excited to push forward. He will play former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the Cincinnati second round.

“For me, the most important thing is now to to feel better every day, to feel good on court, to feel confident and to gain some confidence with all these matches that are ahead of me,” Lehecka said. “So that's my goal. And of course, to be healthy and to play pain free. That's the number-one goal. And then, of course, we will see."