The Spanish Davis Cup team are in search of their first title in six years.
In 2019, the Spanish team – headlined by Rafael Nadal – defeated Canada 2-0 in the final, winning their sixth Davis Cup title this century.
This year, the Spanish team can rely on another superstar: Carlos Alcaraz.
The world number one, who lost the final of the ATP Finals on Sunday, will hope to lead the team past a strong Czechia team in the quarter-finals.
Against Czechia, Alcaraz is likely to play world number 17 Jiri Lehecka, who discussed the potential clash while speaking to reporters on Monday.
Jiri Lehecka says there is ‘no bigger challenge’ than playing Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner
Jiri Lehecka forms part of an extremely strong Czechia team present at the Davis Cup Finals.
The team boasts two top 20 singles players in Lehecka and Jakub Mensik, as well as world number 32 Tomas Macha.
World number 102 Vit Kopriva and ATP number 53 doubles player Adam Pavlasek round out the Czech squad.
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Ahead of their clash against Spain, Jiri Lehecka was asked about his strong form during this year’s event.
During their pre-tournament press conference, a reporter asked: “Jiri, you’ve had a great year on the Tour. You’ve also had a great year in Davis Cup with four wins in your four singles matches so far this year.
“What is it about this competition that brings out the best in you? Looking ahead, if you are playing number one, you’ll likely be playing the world number one on Thursday.”
Lehecka replied: “Yeah, of course Davis Cup is always special and always has been. Since the first moment I played my first tie in 2019, I felt that this competition is just something little bit different.
“You are not just playing for yourself, you are playing for the whole team, you are representing your country, so…
“I always felt good in this competition. I think also that the team spirit makes it a little bit different. You have fun in the locker room. You have much more people than you are used to be traveling with when you are on the Tour by yourself.
“Yeah, these weeks are always the ones to which I’m very looking forward to. I always can’t wait to be part of the team.
“Yeah, of course we will see if it’s the case and I will be playing. Of course, I think that we all know that there will be no bigger challenge this year for sure than to play Jannik or Carlos. These two guys are having a great season and producing unbelievable tennis anywhere they go.
“We will see. I felt very good this year in all of my Davis Cup matches. I will definitely try to prepare my best if I play. Yeah, we will see.
“Of course, I don’t really need to explain how Carlos is playing. We all see his level. We will see how the draw goes. Yeah, let’s see.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s record against Jiri Lehecka
Carlos Alcaraz currently has a 3-1 record against Jiri Lehecka, last defeating the Czech star in the 2025 US Open quarter-finals.
The Spaniard first beat Lehecka at the 2023 Queen’s Club Championships, doing so again in the final this year.
However, Alcaraz will have to be wary if he does play Lehecka this week.
After all, the 24-year-old Czech player caused one of the shocks of the year when he defeated Alcaraz at the Qatar Open earlier this year.
