Málaga (from our reporter) – “On the one hand, I can’t rest, but we are all very happy to be playing here among the best eight teams in the world,” Macháč described the current state of mind in the Czech team, which already surprised by progressing from the qualifying tournament in Valencia. However, he does not intend to consider Wednesday’s duel with the Australians as the ceiling of his possibilities.
“The opponent is strong, they have an excellent number one (Alexe de Minaura), but we also had good seasons and if we manage to win the first point, then there is a chance,” says Macháč, who will be charged with the responsibility of starting the fight with the Australians. No surprises can be expected in the Czech nomination. “Tomáš and Jirka Lehečka have never disappointed me,” added captain Jaroslav Navrátil.
Less than six weeks ago, Macháč celebrated his 23rd birthday. And he also enjoyed a breakthrough among tennis players in the world’s top 100, which he had been playing for for a few years. But his health hindered him. However, after Valencia, where he scored two points in singles and one in doubles, his form stuck to him like a Helvetic faith.
He returned from France with two challenger triumphs as the ‘Duke of Orleans’. And in the following weeks, he also impressed with a clear win over Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in Stockholm or a completely balanced fight with world number six Steafanos Tsitsipas in Vienna.
“But after a successful five weeks, the stop came, unfortunately I was sick,” he explained his scratch at the tournament in Helsinki. “It doesn’t add to a person. But at least I had space to rest,” Macháč did not want to add to his worries. Like other members of the Czech team, he considers the Davis Cup a ‘holy’ competition. Even considering the fantastic tradition it has in the Czech environment.
“When I used to watch the matches of Radek Štěpánek and Tomáš Berdych, we had one of the best atmospheres at home,” claimed Macháč. Although the final is now played as a tournament play-off on a neutral ground, they are not afraid of a dead atmosphere. According to the organizers, pre-sale tickets for the eleven thousand-capacity hall were disappearing quite solidly. “And we also have one of the best fan bases. Maybe the best ever,” he believes in the support of the Czech audience right in the auditorium.
The biggest attraction for Spanish fans, whose tennis players were eliminated by the Czechs in Valencia, will be the start of the finalists of the recent Tournament of Champions, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner. “These players will definitely get the fans into the hall. And we will try to play against Serbia or Italy,” said Macháč.
A bold plan. In the tournament spider, after a possible victory over Australia, the Czechs would go for the better of the Canada-Finland pair. They could only meet Djokovic or Sinner in Sunday’s final…
2023-11-21 14:28:44
#Macháč #afraid #play #Djokovic
