If there is one whose presence in the quarter-finals was worth good odds, it is Tomas Machac (23 years old, 60th). But from one stroke to the next, the Czech is very present at the quarter-final stage in Miami and he almost seems to be the first to be surprised. It must be said that self-confidence was not necessarily his trademark, as he calmly explains. “It’s not easy to have confidence in yourself. You have to work, work and work again. But, even with that, the results do not necessarily follow. You can lose three or four matches in a row, but you always have to believe in yourself, that’s the key. The talent is there and it will not disappear. But without work, it’s not much use. »
Author of a normal season for a player ranked beyond the top 50 and only illuminated by a quarter-final in Marseille, he began to believe in himself in Florida after his clear victory over Andrey Rublev, seeded n°5 , in two dry sets (6-4, 6-4). “I’m playing well and I’m starting to have more and more confidence in myself. I really felt that after my victory over Rublev. I know I have good tennis, but the thing is that I didn’t believe in myself enough until now. But now that I’m in the quarter-finals of a tournament like this, I’ll have to get going. I think it’s a good way to get great results. » Behind Rublev, he continued by overcoming Andy Murray in a match with a scenario worthy of a Hollywood thriller (5-7, 7-5, 7-6 [5]) from which the Briton will have a hard time recovering.
After these two brilliant moments, he had to confirm against Matteo Arnaldi (37th). Although he was still behind in the standings, the match seemed more balanced. But there was still a quarter-final in the Masters 1000 at stake. Why be a little tense? “Of course I was a little tense about this match. This time I wasn’t the outsider, it was more balanced. And then, the opportunity to play a quarter-final in Masters 1000 doesn’t come around every day. But I focused on my body and my game.”
This quarter-final, he will play against Jannik Sinner, the world No. 3 who scares everyone as he seems to be evolving at a stratospheric level since his victory at the Australian Open. For now, Machac is not making a big deal out of it. “It will be another day at the office…” And perhaps before returning to the court, he will be able to chat with other players of the new Czech wave such as Jakub Mensik (69th) or Jiri Lehecka (27th) . Indeed, this group, which will face France in the final phase of the Davis Cup in September, is moving forward together on the circuit. “There is good competition between the young Czech players, that’s good. We push each other. Jakub (Mensik) gave me advice before playing Rublev, for example. I think it is important for Czech tennis to have this state of mind. »
2024-03-27 11:00:00
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