Thomas Machak’s first-round showdown with Andy Murray is one of the most anticipated fights at The Championships, with much anticipation following his Match of the Year nomination in Miami in March.
The pair competed for a grueling three hours and 28 minutes, making it the third-longest best-of-three Miami men’s singles match on record. It wasn’t a long clash, but it was dramatic.
Murray, who was down 2-5 in the final set, sprained his ankle and was in pain. He returned to the court and went ahead in the tiebreaker despite having his ATFL completely ruptured and his CFL almost completely ruptured. “It was definitely the toughest match of my career,” Machak said.
Now the two players meet again on one of the biggest stages in sport, Centre Court at SW19.
“It’s the first round at a Grand Slam, but it’s special to play on Centre Court with a local player, probably at the end of his career, playing good tennis,” Machak told ATPTour.com. “So I would say this is special, but usually it’s the first round for me. It’s different, but I think it’s a normal match on a big stage.”
As Machak said, the winner will only advance to the second round and not lift the trophy. But the eyes of a nation will be on every shot. Murray has made it clear that this is his last appearance at the Championships, and he underwent surgery for a cyst on his back after the Championships.
Machak will be hoping to apply the lessons he learned from his marathon in Miami to the grass at Wimbledon.
“It took me a long time to get there. I was nervous because it was a huge thing for me,” Machak said. “But after that, I felt a lot better on the court and everything went smoothly. It helps me a lot to remember that moment and think about it.”
The Czech player was not shaking because Murray was over the net, but because there was a big risk. It was his first opportunity to advance to the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament. He defeated Murray and then Matteo Arnaldi to advance to the quarterfinals.
A year ago, Machak had to qualify for Wimbledon, where he was ranked 108th in the PIF ATP rankings, and faced Cameron Norrie on Court 1. He lost to the home favorite.
“I think last year I was a little bit nervous at the start of the game,” Machak said. “When you’re on this kind of stage and you’re up against a local guy, it’s not easy to deal with it from the start. But I think I’m ready for it this year.”
[ATP APP]
The Czech player is currently ranked 39th in the world, and a month ago he reached a personal best of 33rd.
“It’s been a lot better. Especially when I played Sinner in the quarterfinals of the 1000m, it was a lot better for me. [in Miami]“It’s much better,” Machac said. 1719878296 What I have [played] This kind of match. It helps.
“[I am] Of course, I have more experience. So I think my game has improved a lot. I try to play the best part of my game, and I don’t need to change anything. I am resisting. [top players] It was pretty good. So it helped me improve in all aspects.”
Machak recorded the biggest win of his career with a shock semi-final win over Novak Djokovic in Geneva.
“Of course, with Novak, it’s obvious. When you win these kinds of matches, it stays in your head for a long time and helps you get better,” Machak said. “It was a match point that I was hoping he would miss. I was waiting for his mistake to actually end the match because it was a return match against him.
“[I was thinking] I said, ‘Wow, I did it. I beat the best.’ And after that, I tried to get to the net as fast as I could to show him the respect that I wouldn’t fall down or anything and that he would be waiting at the net. So I tried to show him the respect that I was happy to share the court with him and enjoy playing against him.”
All the experience has prepared Machac for his moment on Centre Court against Murray. All eyes will be on the Scot, but Machac will be ready to fight.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
