If there’s a strategy for beating Andrey Rublev, the Czech Republic players have seemed to cracked it.
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Rublev will enter April’s Monte Carlo title defense, aiming to recapture the magic of last year’s run. This follows a shortened Sunshine Double where he faced tough competition from the top two Czech players on the ATP Tour.
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As a matter of fact, the 26-year-old has now lost to the highest three-ranked players from the Czech Republic over the past 30 days. After he bowed out to Tomas Machac, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round of the Miami Open Friday.
According to Machac, he had assistance from a compatriot who had previously defeated Rublev.
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Tomas Machac Surges with Support from Compatriots
“I asked Jakub Mensik. He gave me some information, so it’s great that we have a good relationship,” Machac told ATP Media afterwards. “It helps for sure that we can beat these kind of players and help ourselves to get advice on everything.”
The 23-year-old arrived at the ATP Masters 1000 event with a career-high No. 60 ranking, having made prominent gains since the start of the season.
Tomas arrived at the ATP Masters 1000 event with a career-high No. 60 ranking, making prominent progress since the start of the season. Machac eliminated the then No. 17-ranked Frances Tiafoe in the second round of the Australian Open. He also dispatched Andy Murray and Lorenzo Musetti at Marseille and got the better of Stan Wawrinka in his Indian Wells opener.
While the Czech No. 2 had never defeated a Top 10 player coming in, Machac’s confidence shone through against Rublev on a day plagued by wind and rain. He won more baseline points than Rublev and produced more winners off the ground with 16 to nine from his opponent. Machac capitalized on a single break in each set and successfully held all of his service games to advance, achieving victory in just 65 minutes.
Rublev’s loss to Machac came after recent defeats to Czech No. 1 Jiri Lehecka in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on March 10 and rising teenager Mensik in the Doha quarterfinals on February 22.
In between those exits, Rublev found himself tangled in a controversy when he was debatably defaulted in the third set of his Dubai semifinal with Alexander Bublik due to his behavior towards a line judge. However, following Rublev’s appeal of the decision, the ATP later restored his ranking points and prize money.