“I’m not the one to say I’m going to win the game,” Macháč said in an interview net ATP Tour. “But I have played some games with leading players, Berrettini and Schwartzman twice, I have experience of these matches and I can fight for good players to win,” he said.

The 21-year-old Macháč is currently ranked 158 and comes to Indian Wells after losing to the Czech Davis Cup team in Argentina. In Buenos Aires he played against Diego Schwartzman for a hundred and a half, but then succumbed to the world’s top four on his favorite clay court.

After moving to the California desert, Macháč qualified with a two-round qualifier and a duel with Medvedev earned a first-round victory over Alexei Popyrin of Australia.

Medvedev, who first became number one in his career at the end of February, has already met the native Beroun. In January, they trained together at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. “He hardly made any mistakes, he played well from the back, served like a beast and made good returns. It will be difficult to win, but I want to put in my best performance to get closer to winning,” said Macháč.

He considers the match against the world number one a big challenge. “That’s why I play tennis. Of course it’s about money, points and better rankings, but the most important thing in sports is looks and wins. I progressed from qualifying, won the first round and now I am number one. gifts,” he said.

He walked around the Indian Wells campus in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey. As a huge basketball fan, his favorite was Michael Jordan, who ended his career before the Czech tennis player was born. Its stars, especially the Chicago Bulls, knew from the documentary “The Last Dance”.

“It’s amazing what he has achieved. His skills and achievements are incredible,” Macháč said of Jordan and drew on his sports story. “I’ve learned that even if you don’t feel well, you can fight and improve your game. I’ve improved a lot,” says Macháč.