Jiri Lehecka vs Rinky Hijikata Prediction 6/18/2026 Today’s Tennis Picks

Second seed and last year’s finalist Jiri Lehecka will face Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata in the Round of 16 at Queen’s Club on Thursday, June 18. Can Lehecka repeat last year’s run and return to the Queen’s showpiece event? Or will Hijikata upset the Czech just as he took out one of the big hitters in the first round? Here’s our preview and prediction of Jiri Lehecka vs Rinky Hijikata. This article will also include a Jiri Lehecka vs Rinky Hijikata pick.

Jiri Lehecka vs Rinky Hijikata Preview

Jiri Lehecka returned at Queen’s Club, 12 months on from main eventing the final and losing out to Carlos Alcaraz. The Czech beat in-form Pole Kamil Majchrzak in the opening round in two tight sets. Majchrzak was coming off an incredible title win in Den Bosch, where he beat Alex de Minaur in the final to land his first ATP title and for a moment, it looked like he would extend his win streak. But Lehecka earned the first decisive break in the match in the 11th game and held to close out the set 7-5 in precisely an hour.

Majchrzak briefly led 4-2 when he broke Lehecka for the first time, but the Czech restored parity in the next game and the set went into a tiebreak. Majchrzak had the perfect start in the breaker when he got an early mini break, but Lehecka finished strongly and reeled off three points in a row from 4-all. Lehecka hit 35 winners and 29 unforced errors in the victory. That included 8 aces and 2 double faults. Lehecka landed 61% of first serves in play and won 85% of first serve points (34/40). He won 65% of second serve points (17/26) and was broken once in the match.

Rinky Hijikata started the tournament in qualifying where he beat Dino Prizmic and Marcos Giron in three thrilling sets to reach the Queen’s Club main draw for the first time. In the first round, Hijikata knocked out big-serving Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets. The match took 18 games to decide. Hijikata cruised past Tabilo 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round. Hijikata hit 25 winners to just 4 unforced errors. He accounted for 8 aces and not a single double fault. Hijikata was a quarterfinalist in his only previous visit to Queen’s back in 2024.

Jiri Lehecka vs Rinky Hijikata Head-To-Head

Lehecka and Hijikata have never faced off, so this will be their first meeting.

Jiri Lehecka vs Rinky Hijikata Prediction

Lehecka opens up as the clear favorite, but we are not sleeping on Rinky Hijikata to take some positives from this match. The Australian thrives on quick courts, especially here at Queen’s Club (former quarterfinalist). He takes the ball early, and has enough serve-plus-one tennis to make life miserable in short rallies. I think Hijikata could keep sets tight and likely force a tiebreak in this one.

Nur Said's Pick: Hijikata +3.5 games handicap