Czech’s Tomas Machac admitted he had to bring his best against Carlos Alcaraz to topple the Spaniard in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters on Thursday. Machac did bring his absolute best as he registered a 7-6(5), 7-5 win against the World No. 2.
Earlier, Machac had beaten America’s Tommy Paul and he was delighted with the level with which he played against Alcaraz. With this win, Machac broke Alcaraz’s 12-match winning streak.
Machac admitted it could have been an easier win for the Spaniard if he hadn’t lifted his level.
“I knew that the level of my tennis would be great because I am playing the best right now, for sure,” said Machac. “I beat Tommy Paul [in my] last match with an unbelievable performance. With these types of players, I have to play this level otherwise it’s 6-2, 6-3 [and] you go home, there is no other option. I am happy I managed to play like this for two sets.
“I knew that I had a chance [to beat Alcaraz], but you never know, even with a set and 5-4 [lead] it’s still so far from winning the match. I played great tennis against him in the Davis Cup [in September], but there was this level [for] only one set. Today it was [for] two, so it was enough.”
Machac will face Jannik Sinner in the semifinal clash and he is looking forward to facing the in-form Italian.
“I am looking forward to it,” Machac said of his upcoming clash with Sinner. “I am really enjoying it and am happy that I can play against the best [players].”
On the other hand, Sinner registered a 6-1, 6-4 win against Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.
“Obviously I’m very happy how I handled today and this match,” said Sinner. “It felt like he had a bit of shoulder pain and couldn’t hit his forehand as well as he wished to. Hopefully he can recover as fast as possible, but from my side it was a great match, a great battle, and let’s see what I can do now in the semi-finals.”
