Britain's Toby Samuel has enjoyed a breakthrough few months on the ATP Tour and he will look to continue to break new ground when he takes on Jiri Lehecka in the US Open second round on Wednesday.
Not many people knew of Samuel prior to his run to the main draw of this year's French Open, where after successfully negotiating through three rounds of qualifying he found world number seven Alex de Minaur understandably too strong.
Samuel also bowed out in the first round of Wimbledon but he once again did so with plenty of credit in the bank, taking 15th-seed Jakub Mensik to a final set 10-point tie-break.
After coming through qualifying, Samuel made it to the main draw of a third successive Grand Slam at the US Open and he claimed his first win in one of the big four events, comfortably disposing of former top-20 player Tomas Machac in straight sets.
Having taken on Mensik at Wimbledon and Machac in the first round at Flushing Meadows, Samuel will now face another Czech opponent in the second round in world number 19 Lehecka.
Lehecka, who is seeded at 18 for the tournament, needed four sets to overcome the experienced Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round, but he has previous at the US Open, reaching the quarter-finals in New York last year.
Jiri Lehecka v Toby Samuel Tips Summary
Best Bet - Jiri Lehecka -4.5 match handicap @ 5/6
Alternative Bet - Toby Samuel to win a set @ 2/1
Bet Builder - Total sets - 4, Jiri Lehecka 10+ aces & Jiri Lehecka 3+ double faults @ 5/1
Jiri Lehecka v Toby Samuel Prediction
Best Bet: Jiri Lehecka -4.5 match handicap @ 5/6
Samuel has already enjoyed a successful US Open, coming through three rounds of qualifying and then producing arguably the best performance of his career to see off Machac, who had reached the fourth round in New York in each of the last two years.
The 23-year-old from Winchester is set to break into the world's top 100 for the first time regardless of the outcome of his match with Lehecka and he should remain competitive in the contest, although his opponent is expected to come through with something to spare.
Lehecka is at home on hard courts, with both of his ATP Tour titles being won on the surface, while he also made it through to the Miami Open final earlier this year where he found only world number one Jannik Sinner too hot.
The 24-year-old also equalled his best Grand Slam performance by reaching the US Open quarter-finals last season where he was beaten by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
His form in the build up to this tournament has not been spectacular, although his defeats at the Cincinnati and Canadian Opens did come against form players, losing to tournament winner Arthur Fils in the former and eventual semi-finalist Rafael Jodar in the latter.
Lehecka also needed four sets to overcome Carreno Busta in round one, but he still won eight more games than his opponent and it should be a similar story against Samuel, when he can cover the -4.5 match handicap.
Alternative Bet: Toby Samuel to win a set @ 2/1
Lehecka should win this match with something left in reserve, but that does not mean Samuel cannot push his opponent and the Brit is fancied to take a set.
Confidence should certainly be high for Samuel after his dismantling of Machac - a match that saw him drop just seven games - and he proved his quality against top-20 opponents by taking Mensik to five sets in the first round of Wimbledon.
Throw into the mix some positive recent performances on the Challenger Tour, including a title success in Winnipeg in July, and the world number 110 should be able to take this match to at least a fourth set.
Jiri Lehecka v Toby Samuel Bet Builder Tip
Total sets - 4
Jiri Lehecka 10+ aces
Jiri Lehecka 3+ double faults
Pays 5/1
Lehecka was a winner in four sets against Carreno Busta in round one and he can repeat the trick when he faces Samuel, who has proven his ability to push top-20 players after his performance against Mensik at Wimbledon.
Making sure his serve is firing will be key to Lehecka keeping Samuel at bay and after recording 10 aces in the first round, the Czech star should be able to at least match that tally on Wednesday.
Lehecka did serve up seven double faults during his victory over Carreno Busta and there is decent value in siding with him to produce at least three more against Samuel, who won 50% of the points he contested on Machac's second serve in round one.
Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.
Key Match Stats
Jiri Lehecka equalled his best Grand Slam performance by reaching the US Open quarter-finals last year
Toby Samuel is through to the second round of a Grand Slam event for the first time
This will be the first time these two players have faced off on the ATP Tour
Samuel had never made the main draw of a Grand Slam prior to this year's French Open
The Brit is set to break into the world's top 100 for the first time after this tournament
Lehecka has won two ATP Tour titles in his career, with both those successes coming on hard courts
Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
