Tomas Machac could hardly have been presented with a greater challenge in the first round at this week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The Czech qualifier meets Novak Djokovic at the hard-court ATP 500 event, where he will try to become the first player to defeat the Serbian in the 2023 ATP Tour season.

Ahead of Machac’s clash with the World No. 1, ATPTour.com runs down five things to know about the 22-year-old.

His Sporting Idol Is Michael Jordan
Two years before Machac was born in 2000, Michael Jordan played his last game as a member of the Chicago Bulls. That hasn’t stopped the Czech from growing into a huge fan of both the Bulls and Jordan. 

“It is crazy what this guy did in his career,” said Machac of Jordan in an interview with ATPTour.com last year. “His achievements, the moments he had were unbelievable. I learned [from watching him that] some days if you don’t feel well or are sick or something goes wrong, you can still fight, you can still make yourself comfortable in that moment and improve something in your game.”

His Sister’s Love Of Tennis Changed His Life
Perhaps Machac would have been destined for a future in basketball were it not for his older sister, Katerina. She fell in love with tennis as a teen and regularly competed in tournaments from when Tomas was four years old. That paved the way for his development as a tennis talent.

“I was travelling with her and with my family and I was playing against the wall every time,” said Machac. “I was playing for example six hours per day on the wall, because I didn’t want to be bored watching the tennis, so I played lots of tennis.”

He Is Good At Keepie Uppies… Even Without A Ball!
Machac’s excellent hand-eye coordination has not just helped the Czech reach a career-high No. 97 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he posted a video on Instagram demonstrating some impressive footwork with a roll of toilet paper!

 

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He Has Past Experience Facing A World No. 1
Machac’s Dubai meeting with Djokovic will not be his first clash with a World No. 1. In 2022, the Czech faced Daniil Medvedev — who was then atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings — at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Despite a straight-sets defeat to Medevedev on that occasion, Machac has regularly showcased his ability to go toe-to-toe with some of the best on Tour. He defeated Richard Gasquet and Daniel Evans while representing the Czech Republic at the 2021 Davis Cup Finals, while he also pushed Casper Ruud to four sets at this year’s Australian Open.

He Can Always Turn To His Girlfriend For On-Court Advice
Machac doesn’t have to look far for tips on how he can make a greater mark on professional tennis. His girlfriend is Czech WTA star Katerina Siniakova, who has a career-high singles ranking of No. 31 and is three-time tour-level titlist. She is also the current World No. 1 in doubles, having won 20 tour-level titles, including seven Grand Slams.

“She’s a really good player,” Machac told ATPTour.com. “She’s had an unbelievable career… So I’m learning a lot from her.”

Machac added: “She’s a fighter, and she never leaves any point in the game. She plays every point.”

Daniil Medvedev didn’t take too kindly to falling outside the Top 10 following the Australian Open.

Since he debuted in the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in July 2019, Medvedev had not spent a day outside the exclusive club until a straight-sets loss to Sebastian Korda in Melbourne saw him tumble from No. 8 to No. 12 after the year’s first major. That dropped like a punch in the guts.

But it was more than just the loss of his 2022 Australian Open finalist points that underpinned the former World No. 1’s exit from the Top 10. After four titles, including the US Open, and a 63-13 record in 2021, Medvedev went 45-19 last year with just two titles. [He did miss the clay season, save for Roland Garros, after a hernia operation.]

The man nicknamed ‘Bear’ responded to his Australian Open disappointment by winning consecutive titles at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam and the ATP 250 in Doha. This week in Dubai he will attempt for the first time in his career to win three consecutive titles.

“The defeat [in five sets to Nadal] at the Aussie Open last year was a killer,” said former World No. 4 and esteemed coach and analyst Brad Gilbert. “He also had some other things going on and he wasn’t the same player he’d been. After watching him at these last two tournaments, he looks like the same guy that was winning so much. To me the biggest thing is that his confidence is back.”

Medvedev agreed that his confidence is now sky high. “I’m really happy with the last two weeks. I have a lot of confidence going, which is a good thing,” he said Monday in Dubai. “You can find confidence fast and unexpectedly. It can happen the same to lose it. I played a great level in both Rotterdam and Doha and am now looking forward to Dubai.”

A TennisViz analysis for Tennis Data Innovations of Medvedev’s back-to-back title run in Rotterdam and Doha shows how he has recaptured and even exceeded his 2021 form in two key areas: winning points from defensive positions (Steal Score) and forehand shot quality. (Shot Quality is calculated in real-time by analysing each shot’s speed, spin, depth, width, and the impact it has on the opponent.)

In 2021 Medvedev won an impressive 38 per cent of points after finding himself in a defensive position during the point. That dipped to 34 per cent in 2022. Medvedev’s aggregate Steal Score during his nine-match winning streak in Rotterdam and Doha has been an off-the-charts 43 per cent.

“He’s always been a great defensive player; he doesn’t move like a typical guy of that height,” Gilbert said. “He’s like a 6’ 6” wing guy in the NBA. Zverev might move as well as Medvedev but he doesn’t play as good defence. Sometimes we say someone defends well just because they are fast, but it’s more than that. It’s about balance and the ability to do things on the run. Medvedev is probably second behind Djokovic as the best player on tour on the run.”

The TDI analysis also reveals that Medvedev lifted his forehand shot quality from 8.0 in 2022 to 8.3 in Rotterdam and Doha.

Medvedev’s Forehand Fires Up!

“So goes his offensive forehand, so goes his game,” Gilbert said. “He’s got a sneaky good forehand from the centre of the court. It’s different to Rafa’s or Fed’s – he scoots into the court, hits it low and flat – but it’s a very important shot.

“As a big server, it’s also important to have the forehand working for the one-twos, or as some say the Serve +1. His game goes to another level when he gets more of those.”

Medvedev will be looking to use his current confidence to atone for a modest 1-2 record in two prior appearances in Dubai. He is seeded to meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

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Defending champion Andrey Rublev’s 7-5, 6-2 first-round victory against Filip Krajinovic at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday was very much a tale of two halves.

Krajinovic came racing out the blocks against the second seed at the hard-court ATP 500, expertly redirecting Rublev’s powerful groundstrokes to open an early 5-2 lead. Rublev, who is trying to become the first back-to-back Dubai champion since Roger Federer in 2014-15, responded in style. He won 11 of the next 13 games to seal an 89-minute victory and level his ATP Head2Head series with the Serbian at 3-3.

“[It was crazy], crazy things were in my head… Filip is one of my good friends and we always have tough battles,” said Rublev when asked about his early struggles. “So today I was going on court thinking that it was going to be a really tough match, and when he started the way he did, I didn’t know what to do because he was playing so good.

“Somehow I calmed myself and said ‘OK, restart at the bottom and raise my level’ and I started to play much, much better. I was able to turn the match around and finish the match in a good way.”

Rublev became increasingly penetrating with his groundstrokes as the match wore on, striking 28 winners and converting four of six break points to improve his record in Dubai to 11-2. The World No. 6 is chasing his first title of 2023, and his sixth ATP 500 crown overall, this week in the U.A.E.

His second-round opponent will be Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated wild card Malek Jaziri 6-2, 6-0. Tunisia’s Jaziri, a former World No. 42, was playing the final match of his professional career.

Another wild card, Thanasi Kokkinakis, enjoyed first-round success on Monday. The Australian saved four Quentin Halys set points in the second set before completing a 6-4, 7-6(9) victory against the Frenchman on his Dubai debut.
The former World No. 69 Kokkinakis captured his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title in Bahrain eight days ago, and he will try to extend his winning run against eighth seed Borna Coric or Daniel Evans in the second round in Dubai.

Lorenzo Sonego prevailed 7-5, 6-3 in a big-serving battle against Marc-Andrea Huesler to book his second-round spot. The Italian fired 23 winners, including 10 aces, to triumph in his maiden tour-level meeting with the Swiss. He will next face fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Maxime Cressy.

Tallon Griekspoor and Pavel Kotov also advanced on Monday, both in three sets. Griekspoor defeated Constant Lestienne 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, with the No. 39-ranked Dutchman set to take on top seed Novak Djokovic or Tomas Machac in the second round, while qualifier Kotov beat Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3).

Following his semi-final run at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals, Dominic Stricker was eyeing another standout season on the ATP Challenger Tour. However, the Swiss had to battle through a turbulent start to the year before collecting his fourth Challenger title in Rovereto, Italy on Sunday. The #NextGenATP star is among four Challenger champions this week.

The 20-year-old made Swiss tennis history when he won the Citta’ Di Rovereto final against home favourite Giulio Zeppieri 7-6(8), 6-2. Stricker joins Stan Wawrinka as the only Swiss players to win four Challenger titles before their 21st birthday.

Stricker, who fended off five set points in the opening set against third seed Zeppieri, reached the final round of qualifying at the Australian Open, but is still aiming for his maiden Grand Slam appearance.

After a first-round exit at the Vilnius Challenger, where he was the top seed, Stricker found himself nearing another disappointing opening-round loss in Rovereto. Down a set and a break in the first round against Mili Poljicak, the former junior World No. 3 rallied to survive and win the tournament.

“Winning a title after a little bit of a struggle is great,” Stricker said. “I’m back fully motivated and happy. I think I’m on a good way now. [My goal for this year] was to not have one week winning a title and then losing three first rounds, just to be more consistent.

“For my ranking, Top 100 would be great, but the rankings change so quickly. A lot can happen in one week.”

Following his triumph in Rovereto, the lefty climbs to 120 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and is just nine spots from tying his career-high.

The #NextGenATP Zeppieri, who won last week’s Cherbourg Challenger, propels to a career-high 115 following his nine-match winning streak.

At the Bengaluru Open in India, Max Purcell battled from a set down in the championship match to down second seed and countryman James Duckworth 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5). The 24-year-old Purcell is riding a 10-match winning streak.

Max Purcell is crowned champion at the 2023 Bengaluru Challenger. Credit: Bengaluru Open

The Sydney native, who fended off two championship points last week to win the Chennai Challenger, is the first Australian to win back-to-back Challenger titles since Jordan Thompson in 2018 (Traralgon, Canberra). A four-time Challenger champion, Purcell rises to a career-high 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

In Monterrey, Mexico, Nuno Borges saved 10 of 11 break points faced all week to claim his third Challenger title at the Abierto GNP Seguros. Now at a career-high 85, Borges defeated Croatian Borna Gojo 6-4, 7-6(6) in the final.

Following the 2022 US Open, Borges became the fourth Portuguese player to crack the Top 100 in the past decade, joining Joao Sousa, Pedro Sousa, and Gastao Elias (in 2016, Joao Sousa reached the highest ranking in Portuguese tennis history when he climbed to a career-high No. 28).

Nuno Borges in early-round action at the 2023 Monterrey Challenger. Credit: Abierto GNP Seguros

In the semi-finals of the 2018 NCAA singles championship, the Wake Forest University standout Gojo took out Mississippi State’s Borges but the Mexico encounter went in favour of the Portuguese, who captured his first hard-court title in Monterrey. In 2019, Borges’ prominent college career included a 31-match winning streak before falling short in the NCAA Singles Championship (l. Jubb).

In Rome, Georgia, top seed Jordan Thompson didn’t drop a set all week en route to winning his 10th Challenger title. In the final, the 28-year-old won 20 of 24 first serve points to take down wild card Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-2 at Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open.

Jordan Thompson during Sunday’s final in Rome, Georgia. Credit: Georgia’s Rome Tennis Open

Following Purcell and Thompson’s Challenger titles this weekend, players from Australia have combined for an early season-leading five Challenger titles.

Michelsen, 18, was competing in just his third Challenger event. The California native is the youngest American to reach a Challenger final since Frances Tiafoe in 2016 (Tallahassee). Still a senior in high school, World No. 356 Michelsen received a special exemption into the Waco Challenger, as he was still competing in Georgia when the Texas Tennis Classic draw was made.

Andy Murray withdrew from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday, citing a hip injury.

The Scot reached his first final of the season in Doha last week, winning three-set matches against Lorenzo Sonego, Alexander Zverev, Alexandre Muller and Jiri Lehecka. The former World No. 1, who saved five match points against Lehecka, lost against Daniil Medvedev in the championship match.

An update on @andy_murray.#DDFTennis #ATP @atptour pic.twitter.com/ztxMwWd55U

— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 27, 2023

Murray, 35, has made seven appearances at the ATP 500 event in Dubai, holding a 17-6 record. His best result at the hard-court tournament came in 2017, when he won the title.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic leads the field in Dubai, with Top 10 stars Andrey Rublev, Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime also in action.

Novak Djokovic has today achieved another historic milestone in his career, overtaking Stefanie Graf’s record for most weeks by a men’s or women’s tennis player as World No. 1.

The Serbian already held the record for the most weeks as No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (since 1973) when he surpassed Roger Federer’s mark of 310 weeks in March 2021. Now he has moved past Graf by beginning his 378th week on top of tennis’ mountain. 

Djokovic, currently on 6,980 points in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, returned to No. 1 last month for the first time since last June by winning a record-extending 10th Australian Open crown.

ALL-TIME WEEKS AT NO. 1 (MEN AND WOMEN)

The 35-year-old, who is competing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this week, first rose to No. 1 aged 24 years and 43 days on 4 July 2011, and spent a personal-best 122 consecutive weeks at the summit of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings between 7 July 2014 and 6 November 2016.

Djokovic is one of 28 players in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to hold the top spot. He finished 2021 as year-end No. 1 for a record seventh time (also 2011-12, ’14-15, ’18 and ’20).

Graf, who hit the top of the women’s rankings for the first time in 1987, won 107 titles in her career, including 22 Grand Slam crowns.

Carlos Alcaraz battled hard on Sunday in the Rio Open presented by Claro final to claim his second title in as any weeks. But after a two-hour, 42-minute clash full of momentum changes, Cameron Norrie triumphed 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 to earn the trophy.

“It [was] a really tough final. I had my chances to win the final, had a break up in the second set and 0/30 to [earn] a second break,” Alcaraz said. “I couldn’t do it and I said before, when you have chances and you don’t make it, it’s really tough to come back against this kind of player. It’s really tough.

“At the end unfortunately I couldn’t [find] my best level physically and it’s really tough to come back in these kind of tournaments against this kind of player. But I would say it has been a good final given that.”

In the middle of the second set, Alcaraz began visibly struggling with a right leg injury. The 19-year-old dialled up his aggression to shorten points, but ultimately fell short of extending his winning streak to nine.

“Even with the injury and the pain, after all the match I could say I’m happy with my performance this whole week and the level that I played in these matches,” Alcaraz said. “But of course playing against Norrie is always tough and it’s great to see him win a title.”

The pair also met last week in the championship match of the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, where Alcaraz triumphed. It was the Spaniard’s first tournament of the season after missing more than three months due to injury. He is now 8-1 on the season.

Alcaraz explained that he will evaluate his condition with his doctor and physiotherapist. He is scheduled to compete next week in Acapulco at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

“I really like Acapulco,” Alcaraz said. “I really want to go there and play in front of the Mexican fans.”