Tomas Machac isn’t yet a household name in tennis, but if he keeps playing the way he is, the 23-year-old will soon be discussed quite a lot.
We could say that Frances Tiafoe, a top-20 seed at the Australian Open, suffered a bad loss to Machac on Wednesday. Seeded players shouldn’t be losing to unseeded players if they want to be taken seriously. Yet, that would be the lazy, knee-jerk reaction to Tiafoe’s loss.
Sometimes, the other opponent is just better. Sometimes, seeds and rankings don’t tell the full story of which player has more talent or potential.
Tiafoe didn’t lose this match. Machac won it with beautiful, consistent shotmaking which was elegant and controlled and never felt unsustainable or lucky.
Machac put forth a masterclass, and sometimes, a seeded opponent such as Tiafoe just has to tip the cap and move on to the next tournament.
We all know about the beautiful game discourse in sports. The prevailing conventional wisdom is that playing beautifully doesn’t win championships — not ordinarily — and that rugged toughness and sober discipline are needed more than natural talent. Obviously, that’s true to a point, but it can’t be viewed as a gospel edict from the heavens. Sometimes, the beautiful game does win. Brazilian football in Pele-era World Cup victories. Roger Federer in tennis. Examples exist, but it is often the case that the more conservative “percentage” player or team wins even more often.
We will see how far Tomas Machac can carry his beautiful game into the tennis world. At 23, he will probably get pushed back at some point. When that happens, how he adjusts will make this story more layered and more interesting.
Given how well he can play, we’re all going to be watching.
Tennis with an Accent 