Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic beat Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-4 in the first match of the Group C tie in Valencia on Wednesday, September 13. The match lasted less than two hours as the 119th-ranked Czech comfortably defeated his 75th-ranked opponent.
The win gave the Czech Republic an initial 1-0 lead over the powerful Spaniards before making it 3-0 as the team advanced to the next round. Jiri Lehecka beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second match while the doubles contest saw Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlasek beat Fokina and Marcel Granollers.
On that note, let us take a look at four things that stood out in the match:
#1. Tomas Machac displayed his potent backhand extensively
Tomas Machac demonstrated his powerful backhand throughout the match quite extensively. Some of the down-the-line winners he hit with prodigious power took Zapata Miralles by surprise.
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Realizing that he would not be able to contend with the Czech's backhand, Zapata Miralles started directing more traffic towards the former's forehand. That tactic paid off to an extent, as the Czech started committing more errors.
#2. Machac's forehand was error-prone in the first set
Machac often struggled to keep his down-the-line forehand inside the court and hit a number of his shots long. He typically has a tendency to hit his down-the-line forehand high and deep.
This gave Zapata Miralles some breathing space and a chance to capitalize on those errors. However, Machac still managed to break him once in the first set before winning it, much to the surprise of the spectators.
#3. A lot of entertaining points at the start of the second set
The second set started in a bright manner as the two players engaged in some entertaining rallies. Machac stopped hitting the down-the-line forehand for a while and went for the crosscourt forehand instead to avoid unforced errors.
However, it allowed Zapata Miralles more time to set up his forehand and he dominated a few points with it. Machac also created angles with his forehand at times to test the Spaniard.
#4. Machac's improved accuracy troubled Zapata Miralles
As the second set progressed, Machac started hitting his down-the-line forehand with more precision, which put pressure on Zapata Miralles' backhand. Thus the Spaniard had less time to react and was found wanting on his weaker wing.
Tomas Machac got the decisive break in the seventh game of the second set before finishing the match off.
