Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic claimed his first Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) Tour title by defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina with a performance record of 7-6(6), 6-2 in the finals of the Mexican Open.
The eighth-seed athlete, who secured a gold medal in mixed doubles at the Paris Olympics, became the third Czech player to win an ATP 500 title, joining Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek in achieving this milestone.
In a social media post made by the ATP Tour, it shared the achievement of Machac and stated: “That first ATP Tour title feeling hits different 🇲🇽🏆🌟”
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Highlights of the game
Ranked 25th in the world, Machac dominated on his serve, firing seven aces during a closely contested first set in which neither player was able to break the other’s serve.
His opponent, Spain’s Davidovich Fokina, was moments away from winning the set, leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker. However, Machac remained composed, winning the next three points to secure the set.
In the second set, Machac took control, breaking Davidovich Fokina’s serve at 3-2. From that point on, Davidovich Fokina couldn’t find a way back as Machac maintained his momentum, winning the remaining games to close out the match and claim his first ATP Tour title.
Davidovich Fokina expressed towards Machac: “Congratulations for your first title…I don’t know how you feel right now. I never won a title, but for sure it feels amazing.”
Moreover, Machac thanked his coach, Daniel Vacek, for keeping him calm throughout the match. He said: “I was sometimes very tough on him. I speak very loudly (to) him during the matches, but I told him two weeks ago that I sometimes struggle with big matches and I don’t know how to manage these situations, but then, I won… I will try to speak more often.”