After a great fight, Macháč lost to number one Djokovic, Bouzková surprisingly dropped out

Czech tennis player Tomáš Macháč in the first round of the tournament in Dubai, February 28, 2023. 

Monterrey (Mexico)/Dubai – Twenty-two-year-old Czech tennis player Tomáš Macháč in the first round of the tournament in Dubai after he lost 3:6, 6:3 and 6:7 to Novak Djokovic in a big fight. He resisted the world number one for two and a half hours. Marie Bouzková, in the role of the second-seeded player, was surprisingly eliminated in Mexico at the tournament in Monterrey already in the first round after losing 4:6, 2:6 to Slovak Anna Karolína Schmiedlová.

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Macháč secured his participation in the main part in the qualification, while Djokovic entered the first duel after his triumph at the Australian Open in January. And after the first set, it looked like the thirty-five-year-old Serb would progress.

However, the Czech youngster, who is ranked 130th in the rankings, improved and was a balanced opponent for the winner of a record 22 Grand Slams. Macháč equalized and erased the 1:4 loss in the deciding set.

But the tie-break already belonged to the five-time winner from Dubai, who won the shortened game 7:1. Even so, when Macháč left the court, not only the spectators in the stands, but also Djokovic accompanied him with applause.

“He certainly didn't play like the 130th player in the world, he deserves a big round of applause,” the Serbian tennis player said in a televised interview. “He gave me all kinds of problems, but I managed to switch gears and coped with it,” added Djokovic, who will face Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.

Bouzková surprisingly lost to Schmiedl in Monterrey< /h3>

Marie Bouzková will not build on her successes from previous years at the tournament in Monterrey. The Czech tennis player, as the second-seeded player, was surprisingly eliminated in the first round in Mexico after a 4:6, 2:6 defeat to Slovakian Anna Karolína Schmiedlová.

The 24-year-old Bouzková played her first final in 2020 in Monterrey WTA Tour and last year she advanced to the quarterfinals, but this year she finished right in the opening duel. Unexpectedly, the 30th player in the world was not enough for Schmiedl, ranked 70 places lower, whom she defeated in the previous two duels, including the one in Monterrey three years ago, without losing a set.

Results of tennis tournaments

Men's tournament in Dubai (hard surface, subsidy $3,020,535):

Singles – 1st round:

Djokovic (1-Serb.) – Macháč ( Czech Republic) 6:3, 3:6, 7:6 (7:1), Medvedev (3-Rus.) – Arnaldi (It.) 6:4, 6:2, Bublik (Kaz.) – Lazarov (Bulgaria) 6:1, 1:0 scratch.