It proved a proud day for the Czech Republic as their players lifted the trophy in the two events leading up to the Australian Open, the first major of the season.
I’m glad I stayed focused and kept the spirit going until the end Jakub Mensik
First Jakub Mensik won the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand and later his compatriot Tomas Machac joined him in the championship circle when he won the Adelaide International title. . The last time two Czechs won a title on the same day at different events was in 1982 (Ivan Lendl and Tomas Smid).
Mensik produced an excellent performance to beat Sebastian Baez 6-3 7-6(7) to end the Argentine’s run of seven consecutive victories this season in just 82 minutes.
The 20-year-old Czech, with just one title to his name, earned at the Miami Masters last year, became the youngest player to win the title in Auckland since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009.
“I would say it was a great start to the year,” Mensik said in his on-court interview. “I am super happy that after my preparation and preseason, in which you are clearly not in the rhythm and go to the new season with a lot of energy, I showed the performance I wanted. I am super happy with the victory.”
“Seb is a great fighter. It’s super difficult to get a winner against him,” Mensik added. “When I was up 6-5 in the second set, I had served very well all match and then I got some second serves. He took advantage of the opportunity, and then in the tiebreak, when it was 3-6… I’m happy that I managed to stay focused and keep the spirit until the end.”
Mensik broke Baez in the sixth game of the opening set and broke again to take a 6–5 lead in the second, but Baez, who upset top seed Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals, immediately broke back to force a tiebreak in which the Czech held his nerve to take the overall victory.
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(Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Tomas Machac then defeated Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-7(2) 6-2 in the Adelaide final to make it a great day for the Czech Republic to take the second title of his career
“I kept the focus in the third set and kept the level of my tennis very high in the third set. I started to play a little more aggressively and served well,” Machac said after his victory. “I am very happy that after my injuries I can stand at this moment with the trophy and with a great level of tennis.
Machac played some painful groundstrokes, especially in the third set, and kept Humbert constantly on the run to get past the finish line after two hours and 25 minutes.
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