Don’t mention spiders: five things about Andy Murray’s Wimbledon rival Tomas Machac

PRAGUE:

Two-time champion Andy Murray starts his Wimbledon farewell against Tomas Machac on Tuesday.

AFP Sport looks at five facts about Machac, the Czech world number 38.

The 23-year-old has beaten Murray twice this year, first in straight sets in Marseille and then in a dramatic three-setter in Miami to improve his record against the Briton – in his first appearance at Wimbledon last year he lost in four sets to Cameron Norrie in the first round.

Machac has since enjoyed several notable victories, including defeating Novak Djokovic on the Geneva clay circuit in three sets in May. Machac became only the sixth player since the introduction of the ATP rankings to defeat the world number one despite losing a loving set.

Machac entered the Top 100 for the first time in 2022 and ended the year as world number 97. He has since climbed to a career high of 33 earlier this month. Machac has yet to win an ATP singles title.

He has an impressive Davis Cup record of seven wins and one loss in singles.

Machac has also climbed to 56th in doubles after partnering China’s Zhang Zhizhen this year.

“It was amazing,” Machac said after they reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. “It’s great to play with him.”

Things get even more exciting in the mixed doubles, where Machac teams up with multiple Grand Slam champion Katerina Siniakova, his compatriot and girlfriend.

According to Czech media, the two have been partners since early 2021. They first played together at the Australian Open in 2022.

In the first round of this year’s French Open, Siniakova hit Machac in the head from behind with a powerful backhand. Machac made the crowd laugh with a theatrical fall while pretending to be unconscious.

“I was lucky I didn’t look the other way, it would have been much worse if I got hit between the eyes,” Machac said at the time as Siniakova apologized profusely. “But it was a big blow!”

Siniakova, who is four years older, has won five singles titles and 27 doubles titles, including eight Grand Slam titles, mainly with compatriot Barbora Krejcikova. The world number 27 in singles and number five in doubles also won the Olympic doubles title with Krejcikova at Tokyo 2020.

“Katerina has achieved so much, especially in doubles. I don’t reach her ankles,” Machac said.

“I’m slowly starting to prove to myself that I can do this too, but I still have a long way to go.”

Machac’s coach Daniel Vacek, a former doubles specialist, was indicted earlier this year for alleged misuse of government subsidies.

Vacek, who had won three Grand Slam doubles titles and 25 ATP tournaments, was arrested and released in February.

His doubles partner Vojtech Flegl and the head of the Czech Tennis Federation (CTS) Ivo Kaderka spent three months in pre-trial detention before being released in May.

Police have charged a total of five people and five companies with misusing subsidies provided to the CTS by the government.

Machac started playing tennis at the age of five, hitting the wall while his older sister played. The ATP website lists Wimbledon as his favorite tournament, while his idols are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Machac is a fan of Queen and Harry Potter and enjoys reading, studying and watching history programs. His favorite meal is schnitzel. He has also confessed that he is afraid of snakes and spiders.