Lack of “fitness preparation” costs Machac Bastide Médical UTS Nîmes glory
Tomas Machac feels Casper Ruud was “better prepared” for the Saturday final, which was played at the historic Arènes de Nîmes
© UTS Tour
Tomas Machac missed out on back-to-back UTS glory on Saturday due to a lack of preparation, as “The Ice Man” Casper Ruud trumped him 3-1 in the Bastide Médical UTS Nîmes final.
“The Air Machete” triumphed at UTS Guadalajara a few weeks ago, thus, he walked in against Ruud with great confidence and took an early lead by claiming the first quarter. However, the Norwegian edged him out in the following three quarters to take the Zeus trophy home.
“I think Casper was much better prepared for today so I was a little bit tired,” Machac told the press while assessing his performance after the title clash. “But even I was happy with my performance, very close. So I was enjoying the moment on the court. So, congrats to Casper.
“Just today was little bit difference the fitness preparation. It was first tournament on the clay so nobody is prepared for clay yet. I think this was the difference today because I was feeling little bit tired in the rally. Some mistakes was not good because I was not ready for it.”
Machac made the most of his South American clay court swing by winning the Mexican Open in Acapulco after a triumphant UTS debut in Guadalajara. But the Czech fell sick later and was forced to retire in the Round of 64 at Indian Wells and the last 16 in Miami.
“I wasn’t nervous [against Ruud],” he added. “I think, the whole tournament I was feeling good, surprised because I didn’t do any preparation here because of the sickness, I have pulled out so many times now. I was sick in Indian Wells and Miami so I was very surprised to be playing. I was on antibiotics, yeah, wasn’t easy. It wasn’t sickness like I was laying on the bed but still it was like one month.”
It’s remarkable to play in Arènes de Nîmes, it’s huge for tennis.”
Tomas Machac
Machac opened his campaign with a 3-1 win over home-favourite “La Monf” Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals at Arènes de Nîmes and overcame “The Demon” Alex de Minaur 3-2 in the semis in the historic stadium, playing with the tennis balls to be used at the upcoming Monte Carlo Masters.
“I played three great matches here and the stadium and the court was great,” the world No 21 added in his interaction with the media. “The ball… it’s good to continue with the same balls all the tournament. So, all is great.
“One of the best tournaments ever so I really enjoyed it. It’s remarkable to play in a stadium like this [Arènes de Nîmes], it’s huge for tennis. So, I was happy that I can be here and play.”
Had Machac defeated Ruud in the final, he would have broken Andrey Rublev’s UTS record of winning eight matches in a row.
