Machac surprises Alcaraz in the Shanghai quarterfinals | ATP Tour

Shanghai

Machac surprises Alcaraz in Shanghai CF

The Czech will face Sinner in the semifinals

October 10, 2024

Defining Tomas Machac as a versatile player may not do justice to his ability on the court. With an enormous range of resources, the Czech reached the semifinals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters this Thursday, beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(5), 7-5 to cause an earthquake in the Asian ATP Masters 1000.

The No. 33 in the PIF ATP Rankings imposed his sleight of hand to cloud the pace of Alcaraz, who broke a streak of 12 consecutive victories on the circuit. Machac resisted in a tight match from start to finish, sailing through a first set without breaks and holding his breath in the second, where he assumed a recovery from Alcaraz (from 1-3 to 4-3) to prevail in the outcome.

“I knew my tennis level would be good because I’m playing even better,” Machac said. “I beat Tommy Paul in my last match with an incredible performance. Against these types of players I have to play like that. Otherwise I will go home 6-2, 6-3 without any option. I’m glad I knew how to play like that during two sleeves”.

With a fully recovered physique, the Czech extended the sensations left weeks ago against the Murcian. In the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals held in Valencia, an aggressive Machac dragged Alcaraz to the final round, where a leg injury prevented him from completing the match. On this occasion, without mishaps along the way, the Central European completed the task.

“I knew I could have a chance [de derrotar a Alcaraz]but you never know what is going to happen. Even with one set and 5-4 you are still far from winning the match. I played good tennis against him in the Davis Cup [en septiembre]but I maintained this level for one set. Today I did it for two rounds, and it was enough.”

Machac continues writing a season of great milestones. In Shanghai he continues a 2024 course in which he won an Olympic medal (mixed doubles with Siniakova), reached his first ATP Tour final (Geneva) or achieved his first victory against a current world No. 1 (Novak Djokovic) .

Now, the Czech will have the opportunity to seek his first ATP Masters 1000 final. On the other side of the net he will find the first seed Jannik Sinner, who will try to equal the Lexus ATP Head2Head record after being defeated by the Italian in the quarterfinals. Miami final this season.

“I’m looking forward to playing that game,” Machac said. “I enjoy these moments and I am happy to be able to compete against the best [jugadores]”.

The victory allows Machac to consolidate notable growth in the locker room, where he has secured his best historical position as No. 25 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Becoming the first racket player in Czech tennis, one of the most historic tennis nations, Tomas begins to assume the stripes of an important player at the top of the circuit.

Alcaraz ends his participation in Shanghai with reduced options to close the year as ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF for the second time in his career (2022). The Spaniard is 3,020 points away from the year’s ranking throne occupied by Jannik Sinner, still present in the semifinals of the Asian ATP Masters 1000.