Tommy Paul and Tomas Machac played out an enthralling match yesterday in the Shanghai Masters, battling it out for the pleasure of facing Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final.
And whilst the American took the lead, racing into a one-set advantage, it was his opponent who eventually came out on top.
His shot-making was phenomenal, and the power he was generating in his groundstrokes, particularly in the deciding third set, was impossible for the world number 13 to contend with.
So much so that Tommy Paul even uttered a mid-match claim that is not to be ignored.
What Tommy Paul said about Tomas Machac
Speaking on court after his emphatic Shanghai Masters win over the American yesterday, Machac was characteristically reserved.
This remained even after the interviewer informed him of some huge praise that Paul, a quarter-finalist in Wimbledon this year, had bestowed upon him mid-way through their battle.
He asked: ‘I don’t know what he said to you at the end, but he came to the corner where your coach was sitting and said ‘How is this guy not top five in the world?’ Have you ever heard such a thing before?’
Machac responded bluntly: ‘No, but this level that I played at today, those three sets but especially those two sets, I was playing unbelievable.
‘I was hitting the ball, I could do everything with the ball. But, you never know. You can lose it in two games and then he can fight back so, I’m playing great tennis. I know that.’
Tomas Machac’s top level is really high
Just after Alexander Zverev suggested Tallon Griekspoor should be in the top ten, Paul has gone one further with Machac.
The difference between the two is that the Dutchman is now 28 years old, and thus it would take something huge to turn his fortunes around and make that change.
Meanwhile, the Czech tennis star is just 23, and has his whole career ahead of him.
It’s also worth noting that, despite being so young, he already has some stunning performances under his belt as well to emphasise how his top level can see him compete with those at the very top of the sport.
He had already beaten Paul just last month in Tokyo, and even claimed his first-ever win over Novak Djokovic in Geneva back in May.
Going even further back, during the Miami Masters he impressed to overcome Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray before losing to the eventual winner Jannik Sinner.
Perhaps lacking the consistency to truly become a regular threat for the top players and these elite trophies, Machac is developing with each passing month.
He has all the skillset to one day prove Paul’s prediction correct, and all the time to do it too.
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