Tomas Machac claimed his maiden ATP title on Saturday after defeating Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(6) 6-2 at the Mexico Open in Acapulco. The 24-year-old is set to enter the Top 20 for the first time in Monday’s PIF ATP Rankings to cap off a brilliant week in Mexico.
The eighth seed, he was virtually invincible on his serve, winning 29 consecutive first-serve points before conceding one early in the second set. By the end of the one-hour and 37-minute match, he had won 37 of 39 first-serve points.
He also excelled from the baseline, employing his forehand to take control of rallies, putting his Spanish opponent on the backfoot before eventually triumphing over Davidovich-Fokina for the second time in as many matches.
Maintaining his aggressive play, Machac never faltered in his high-performance encounter, winning five straight games to clinch the title.
At 2-2, 15-15 in the second set, Davidovich Fokina moved towards the net but hesitated, allowing Machac’s slice backhand to pass him–believing it was going long, only for it to land on the baseline to lead to his first break of the match.
Machac becomes the third Czech player to win an ATP 500 trophy since the series began in 2009, joining former Top 10 players Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek and the second Czech player to win the Mexico Open, following Jiri Novak’s victory in 1998.
He is also the third player this season to win their first ATP title, joining Alexandre Muller in Hong Kong in January and 18-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca in Buenos Aires in February. Before this week, he was the highest-ranked player yet to earn a tour-level title.
This marks a consecutive ATP runner-up finish for Davidovich, who squandered two match points in his defeat to Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the Delray Beach final on February 16.
Machac was helped through the tournament by a food poisoning issue that took out many of the top players.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
