Tomas Machac’s recent success at ATP 500s continued Thursday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco. Playing in his fourth consecutive 500-level quarter-final, the Czech defeated Learner Tien 6-3, 7-5 to reach his fourth ATP Tour semi-final.
Machac, who also reached the semis last September in Tokyo, is just the first Czech semi-finalist at the event in more than 25 years and the second overall after Jiri Novak (1996, 1998). His victory moved him up to No. 22 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting him up to pass countryman Jiri Lehecka to reclaim the title of Czech No. 1.
A topsy-turvy opening set featured five straight breaks of serve from 1-1, with Machac up a break at 4-3 after that stretch. At the end of a titanic 5-3 game, he broke for the fourth time in the set on his fifth set point. The drama came late in set two as Machac failed to serve out the match at 5-4, only to break for the sixth time in the match to clinch victory.
Machac converted on six of 14 break points overall, while Tien broke three times on four chances, according to Infosys ATP Stats
After winning his first Lexus ATP Head2Head matchup against Tien, runner-up at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals, Machac will meet 2022 Next Gen champ Brandon Nakashima for the first time in Friday’s semi-finals. Yet to drop a set this week, Nakashima beat David Goffin 7-6(4), 6-2 to advance to his seventh tour-level semi-final (3-3).
© Copyrights Sixsports. All Rights Reserved.