Czechmates.
Saturday was a day for them, to be sure.
Tomas Machac battled past Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-7 6-2 in the Adelaide final to join Jakub Mensik as ATP title winners on the same day for the first time since 1982, when Ivan Lendl and Tomas Smid won titles on the same day. It had only happened once in the Open Era for the Czech men.
Make that twice.
Machac was brilliant in a spirited affair against Humbert, who threw everything he had into the ring but fell short in a third set as Machac pulled away to win his second ATP title. The 25-year-old will rise to No.24 in Monday’s ATP rankings as a result of his title.
He defeated Tommy Paul in a barnburner in the semifinals, showing off his physicality and extreme athleticism as he performed like a future Top-10 player.
Time will tell on that note. For now, Machac can take confidence into Melbourne, where he’ll face Grigor Dimtrov in a highly anticipated battle of unseeded men that should be seeded.
Humbert will face Ben Shelton in round one at Melbourne.
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