Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have dominated the ATP Tour over the past 12 months, clinching the previous five Grand Slam titles.
The world number one and three were a class above on the ATP Tour in 2024, as they shared the four Major titles evenly.
Jannik Sinner won the Australian Open and US Open, while Carlos Alcaraz won at the French Open and Wimbledon.
The Italian star continued his fine form into 2025, as Sinner defended his Australian Open title, beating Alexander Zverev in the final.
Sinner has now been banned from tennis but will return to action ahead of this year’s French Open in Paris, where he’ll no doubt be one of the biggest threats to his Spanish rival’s title defense.
While the pair have developed into two of the best players in men’s tennis recently, that’s not to say there aren’t several other stars making waves.
One such player has just reached the final of the Mexican Open ATP 500 event, closing in on a record held by Sinner in doing so.
Tomas Machac closes in on Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz record by reaching Mexican Open final
24-year-old Tomas Machac beat Brandon Nakashima to qualify for his first ATP 500 final at the Mexican Open in Acapulco.
The win was his 24th since the conclusion of the 2024 US Open, as he now sits behind only the world’s top three players in match wins during that period.
- 1 – Jannik Sinner (32 wins)
- 2 – Alexander Zverev (29 wins)
- 3 – Carlos Alcaraz (27 wins)
- T4 – Tomas Machac (24 wins)
- T4 – Alex de Minaur (24 wins)
A win over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final would see the Czech star edge ahead of Alex de Minaur whom he is currently tied with 24 wins in fourth place.
He made a real name for himself in 2024, securing wins over the likes of Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
He is, however, yet to win an ATP title, having fallen to defeat in his one previous final at the Geneva Open last year.
Machac enjoyed a great run in Switzerland, taking down Djokovic in the last four, but came up just short against clay-court specialist Casper Ruud in the final.
| Round | Opponent | Result | Score |
| F | Casper Ruud [2] | Loss | 5-7, 3-6 |
| SF | Novak Djokovic [1] | Win | 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 |
| QF | Alex Michelsen | Win | 6-3, 7-6 |
| 2R | Nicolas Moreno de Alboran | Win | 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 |
| 1R | Jack Draper [8] | Win | 7-6, 6-1 |
Could Tomas Machac break into the ATP top ten in 2025?
It’s clear that Machac is a talented player, even if he doesn’t receive the same mainstream attention as Alcaraz or Sinner.
The Czech youngster will reach a new career high on Monday thanks to his Mexican Open exploits, as he edges closer to the top twenty.
Breaking into the top ten will be a logical next step, as the ‘Live Race to Turin’ shows Machac may not be that far away from doing so.
| Live Rank | Name | Points | Most recent result |
| 10 | Tommy Paul | 750 | Lost in Mexican Open R16 |
| 11 | Andrey Rublev | 710 | Lost in Dubai R32 |
| 12 | Jiri Lehecka | 700 | Lost in Dubai R32 |
| 13 | Sebastian Baez | 670 | Chile Open SF* |
| 14 | Tomas Machac | 615 | Mexican Open F* |
| 15 | Alexandre Muller | 590 | Lost in Mexican Open R32 |
| 16 | Camilo Ugo Carabelli | 537 | Chile Open SF* |
| 17 | Jack Draper | 530 | Lost in Qatar Open F |
| 18 | Ugo Humbert | 525 | Lost in Dubai R16 |
| 19 | Casper Ruud | 515 | Lost in Mexican Open R16 |
Machac has accumulated the 14th most points of any player on the ATP Tour this year and would jump into the top ten with a win over Davidovich Fokina in the Mexican Open final.
While the rankings usually show a fuller picture, the ‘Race’ is often a better indicator of which players are in form.
The 24-year-old is playing some of the best tennis of his career, and will likely take to the court against his Spanish opponent on Sunday as the favorite for the title.
Machac and Davidovich Fokina will play for the Mexican Open title on Sunday, March 2.
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