Working Saturday. Machac is looking at two games in one day. Can he handle the opportunity of a lifetime in Paris?

The French Open programme is heavily affected by rain. Many matches were not played on time. On Saturday, however, Czech tennis player Tomas Machac will not get much rest. He will face the world number five in the singles and also enter the doubles tournament.

Machac will challenge Medvedev

Tomas Machac has confirmed his very good form at the second Grand Slam of the season. A week before the start of the Major in Paris, he made a winning run through the tournament in Geneva, which was spiced up by the scalp of world number one Djokovic.

At the French Open, he did not lose a set to the well-playing Portuguese Borges. The subsequent duel against the seeded Argentine Navone had to be decided in the fifth set. But the Czech tennis player won it convincingly 6:1.

Macháč thus improved his best score at Roland Garros twice already. Today he will be rewarded with a match on Suzanne Lenglen’s court. It is the second largest at the Paris Grand Slam.

The native of Beroun will face Medvedev of Russia for his first appearance in the eight-finals of a major. One of the favourites for this year’s French Open. Although the Russian has never been fond of clay, last year there was a shift in that direction.

Medvedev then unexpectedly won the Masters in Rome, which takes place a fortnight before the French Open and also on clay. This year, although he did not defend the trophy, like none of the 20 he has won in his career, he has a better relationship with clay.

And in Paris he pretty much confirms it. He has made us forget about his earlier first-round explosions. He’s only lost one set here so far. But in the second game, he was helped by a dropped set from his opponent.

Machac won’t be the favourite against the 2021 US Open winner, but he should still produce a better result on the brick surface than in their last duel. Two years ago, on the hard surface in Indian Wells, Makhach didn’t get a chance from Medvedev and lost to him 3:6, 2:6.

Doubles with the Chinese

This pairing is outstanding. Machac alongside Chinese Zhang shines wherever they start. They have played three tournaments together this year and have reached at least the semi-finals in all of them.

The big surprise was their run at the Australian Open. The Czech-Chinese pair also outplayed the elite pair of Ram/Salisbury and ended up in the semi-finals in a confrontation with the world’s second best pair Bopanna/Ebden.

Moreover, Machac and Zhang lost the prestigious duel in Melbourne only in the tiebreak of the deciding set. Doubles is definitely not just a complement for them.

The top-seeded Poles await them in Paris today. The duel with the pair Nys/Zielinski is scheduled almost at the end of today on court number nine.

Machac has a solid chance to qualify for the second week of the Grand Slam. Let’s hope he takes at least one today.

Source: Roland Garros