WHAT HAPPENED: Tomas Machac motored into the Last 32 at the US Open for the first time with a commanding 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory over American hopeful Sebastian Korda.
Machac, adding to third round spots at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2024, continued to build his major habits off the back of 31 winners in the two-hour triumph.
“It was pretty difficult. I think I was playing a solid match, so was Sebi at the beginning,” Machac saida. “At the beginning of the third set, I noticed he was struggling, shaking out his hand, but he was still fighting so much and playing like he wasn’t in pain. So I had to be really focused on my tennis. I think the match was great today.”
A backhand pick up followed by a forehand pass set the tone for a strong start from recent Washington champion Korda. On two occasions, the towering American spun 360 degrees mid-point and managed to connect with a passing winner. Those were the highlights to fire the 24-year-old a break ahead.
Machac found himself 2-4, 0-40 down, but managed to click into an unplayable gear off the forehand wing in particular. Dragging Korda side-to-side, the world No. 39 pulled the trigger on a brace of bullet forehands to erase the deficit. Four games on the trot and the Czech proved he was up to task for an upset.
Korda was visibly struggling physically and had a medical timeout for treatment on his right arm. The serve was the obvious stroke giving Korda the most grief, as Machac pounced for an instant break. The No. 16 seed conjured up a couple of sublime points with a carved backhand slice and lasered backhand, but Machac was motoring two sets up with clean and slick tennis. There was no reaction from Machac, striding to the sitdown, just like his tennis, with real purpose.
The No. 16 seed valiantly battled on and called "come on" following a forehand arching onto the baseline. Some more vicious slice and an instinctive backhand gained a 3-0 lead for Korda, despite his arm still causing pain and an untimely distraction.
Once again, Machac battled back from 2-4. A Michael Jordan fan, the world No. 39 leapt into the air for a mid-flight forehand cross court en route to grinding down the American and securing a statement win in straight sets.
WHAT IT MEANS: Machac is as dangerous as they come for names outside the usual suspects.
“You can only focus on your preparation and your game and the results will hopefully sometimes come," Machac said. "I just try to believe in myself."
“I wasn’t playing well before this tournament, but I made two matches in six straight sets. So you never know what can happen, you just have to fight and believe.”
Rewind to June and the 23-year-old ousted the No.1 ranked Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1, for the biggest win of his career to earn a maiden ATP final over in Geneva.
Despite first round defeats at the hands of Alexei Popyrin and Max Purcell on the road to Flushing Meadows, Machac began his US Open campaign in straight sets over Fabio Fognini and then displayed some monstrous tennis on Louis Armstrong Stadium to complicate matters for Korda.
In the third round, the Czech will battle with David Goffin or Adrian Mannarino. If it's Goffin, Machac will be boosted by memories from Wimbledon when he was two sets down, then 0-5 down in the fifth set, during a thrilling escape act at The All England Club.
MATCH POINT: Away from the monumental historic moments for Djokovic and Zheng Qinwen at the Paris Olympics, there were plenty of podium gems in doubles events. Just ask Machac. The Czech teamed up with Katerina Siniakova in the mixed doubles for gold medal glory on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Can a golden summer get brighter at Flushing Meadows?
On another note, during his on-court interview, Machac was asked about his extra-short shorts he tucks up for play. Is he a new tennis style icon with this throwback?
“Some people in the locker room told me I am the shorts king. It’s really funny. But really I cannot play with long shorts because it’s not comfortable for me. So I play like this. I don’t know if it’s nice or not but it’s a new trend for me, huh?”
