Tomáš Macháč, 22, has laid the foundation for the Czech team’s highly likely progression from the group stage to the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup. After his victory over the favored Spaniard Bernabé Zapata Miralles on Wednesday, Macháč defeated the challenging Korean Hong Seong-chan on Thursday in Valencia.
In the Davis Cup, the native of Beroun has won six out of seven singles matches, impressing with his extraordinary winning shots, of which he accumulated a total of forty in the match. In the first set, which culminated in a long and dramatic tie-break, Macháč managed to escape a critical situation where he faced two set points from his opponent thanks to his phenomenal reaction at the net.
„How did he do it? It looked like his opponent had a 99 percent chance of winning. This was simply extraordinary,“ exclaimed a British commentator. „Macháč’s reflexes are out of this world,“ added the official Davis Cup account.
Macháč enjoyed well-deserved applause, with his team, including non-playing captain Jaroslav Navrátil, rising to their feet and applauding admiringly. As shown in the footage, even the Koreans couldn’t hide their astonishment.
After the match, Macháč admitted that he wasn’t aware of the exact score, only knowing that it was an important match. „I played a good exchange, I approached the forehand, played a good length, my opponent gave me an uncomfortable short ball, and my volley didn’t go well at all. But I was focused, as if I were hunting, and I went after that ball, thinking that I would just hit it cross-court. I believed in it; otherwise, I wouldn’t have played it,“ he said according to Tennis World.
In a fraction of a second, he relied on his instincts. „At the last moment, I saw that he slightly turned his shoulders and would go down the line. But I didn’t know if he would hit it fast or slow. I was prepared for anything; I had already decided on a forehand volley. He played a shot in the middle, so I sliced it cross-court; I couldn’t think about it at all. It was a crucial point, and I really wanted to win that exchange,“ Macháč added.
In the Davis Cup, Macháč is once again showing his potential. Captain Navrátil told Aktuálně.cz before the final tournament that he believes Macháč has a much better ranking than his current 119th place. „Czech tennis is on the rise. Jiří Lehečka is already in the top thirty players. Jakub Menšík is achieving huge results. I would like Tomáš Macháč to move up a bit because I think he has more to offer than what he has shown so far. He has what it takes to be in the top hundred; he just needs that little extra,“ Navrátil said. Macháč’s career-high ranking is 97th.
