Tomas Machac’s first round match against Andy Murray is one of the most anticipated matches of the Championships. The Cubs have a lot of catching up to do after their player of the year loss in the third round in Miami in March.
The pair battled for three hours and 28 minutes, making it the third-longest Miami men’s singles match on record. It was not only a long conflict, but a miracle.
After rallying from 2-5 down in the final set, Murray rolled his ankle and was in pain. He returned to the court and was able to lead at halftime before losing despite a complete tear of his ATFL and a full tear of his CFL. Machac said it was “definitely the hardest game of my career”.
Now they will meet again on one of the biggest stages in the sport: Center Court at SW19.
“It’s the first round of the Grand Slam. But it’s a special event that we will play on Center Court with a local boy maybe at the end of work, we play good tennis,” Machac told ATPtour.com. “So this event is something special, I would say. But usually it’s the first round for me. It’s different, but I think it’s a normal game in the big league.”
As Machac said, the winner will only advance to the second round, not lift the trophy. But the nation’s eyes will remain fixed on every shooting. Murray has made it clear that this will be his last match at the Championships and he recently had surgery on a cyst in his back after the Cinch Championships.
Machac will hope to take what he learned from their marathon match in Miami and apply it on the grass at Wimbledon.
“It took a lot of time there. I was shaking because it was unbelievable for me,” said Machac. “But after that, I felt much better on the court and everything was going well. I miss that time and it helps me a lot to think about it.”
The Czech was shaking not because Murray crossed the net, but because there were huge stakes. It was an opportunity to reach the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. He defeated Murray and then Matteo Arnaldi to enter the quarter-finals.
Last year, Machac needed to fight to make it to the Wimbledon main draw. He was No. 108 in the PIF ATP Rankings at the time and faced Cameron Norrie at No. He fell to the home favorite.
“I think last year, I was a little nervous from the start of the game,” said Machac. “When you stand on a stage like this and face the boy there, it is not easy to face this situation from the beginning. But I think I’m ready for that this year.”
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“Even better. It’s much better for me, especially when I played Sinner in the quarter-finals of 1000. [in Miami],” said Machac. “Even better 1719906710 what i have [played] these types of games. It helps.
“[I am] the more experienced, of course. Then I think my game has improved a lot. I try to play with the best parts of my game, I don’t need to change anything. I am against [top players] it’s really good. So it helped me to improve in every way.”
Machac won the biggest title of his career in Geneva, where he beat Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
“Yes, with Novak, it’s obvious, of course. This kind of games when you win is something that stays in your head for a long time, and it helped you get better,” said Machac. actually.
“[I was thinking] like, ‘Wow, I did it. I hit the best one’. And after that, I was trying to be as quick as possible in the net to show him respect that I won’t put him down or something and he will wait in the net. So I was trying to show him respect that I was happy to share the field with him and enjoy the game we are facing.”
All the experience prepared Machac to meet the moment on Center Court against Murray. All eyes will be on the Scot, but Machac will be ready to fight.
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