Machak joins Mencic in winner’s circle on historic day for Czech men – Tennis Now
Czech.
To be sure, Saturday was a day for them.
Tomas Machac defeated Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-7 6-2 in the Adelaide final to join Jakub Mensik as ATP champions on the same day for the first time since Ivan Lendl and Tomas Smid won on the same day in 1982. This has only happened once during the Czech Men’s Open.
Do this twice.
Machak performed well against Humbert, who gave it his all, but struggled in the third set and Machak won his second ATP title. The 25-year-old will move up to No. 24 in the ATP rankings on Monday with the title win.
He defeated Tommy Paul in the semifinals, showcasing his physical prowess and extreme athleticism, and he performed like a future top-10 player.
Time will tell. Machak can now look to Melbourne with confidence, where he will take on Grigor Dimtrov in a much-anticipated unseeded fight that should be seeded.
Humbert will face Ben Shelton in the first round in Melbourne.
