Tomas Machac on the speculation of the Olympic relationship: ‘The story deserves a movie or a book at least!’ | ATP Tour

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Machac on Olympic relationship speculation: ‘The story deserves a movie or a book at least!’

Czech thinks about an unforgettable event in Paris

August 08, 2024

The biggest tennis story at the Paris Olympics was Novak Djokovic winning the gold medal, the most important title he was missing. Serbia’s victory did not come as a surprise.

Amazingly, about a week later, there is a tennis-related story making headlines around the world where people outside of the sport are saying it deserves a movie, and they even got a part on the TODAY Show, which is a big morning show. in the United States.

That story is the doubles gold medal run of Czech mixed doubles Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova. Two days before the start of the competition, news broke in the Czech media that the long-term partners had split three weeks ago.

“I think everyone was curious from the beginning, because we said we didn’t meet before the tournament,” Machac told ATPTour.com. “The media tried to push before the Olympics. I don’t know why, but it was a day or two before the game, so it was not easy for us. But we have a good relationship between us together.”

The Czechs won their first three matches in a row, including a first-round victory against top-ranked Germans Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev, who won the United Cup for their country earlier this year. The depth of Machac and Siniakova, close fans pay attention to the nature of their relationship. They were separated, but they got along well on the court.

The big question after they won the gold medal against China’s Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen and shared a celebratory kiss was whether they were back together.

“Everyone was looking at us, what we were going to do, or how it looked. But we shared a lot of time together, so I think everyone was curious about it,” said Machac. But after speaking Czech, they started asking a lot of questions. But we keep our privacy, so I think it’s a better way to keep your privacy.”

At the same time, Machac completely understands the fans’ interest in their story and does not care about it.

“I think the story deserves a movie or a book at least,” said Machac. “I think someone should pick us up and say we need to write it, or film it, because this doesn’t happen every day for sure. I think it’s a really interesting story. And let’s see, in the future, maybe we can share something.”

For Machac, the Olympics are “the highest value”. Beyond the relationship talk, just participating in the event for the first time was a dream come true. His goal was to get a medal of some kind. Leaving Paris with gold was even more special. “If you lose in the final, you have silver, it’s really good,” said Machac, before smiling. “But gold is gold.”

“It’s funny. From the beginning, I was just happy to be there, part of the team, part of the team. And playing all the events there – regular doubles, mixed doubles, singles, it was very difficult from the beginning. But it was good that I could share the gold with Kate,” said Machac. “We were able to beat great players and reach the gold medal. And after the ceremony and everything, it was impressive.”

Machac was proud that despite the attention, he and Siniakova were able to prove that they were “very strong”. They are rewarded with a lifetime memory.

“Nothing is impossible, it is not true. Everything is possible. We just showed the world that this is possible. And I think that life and everything is writing a story,” said Machac. “You don’t know what will happen in two days, in one day. Just live the life you want to live, and just believe and work on the things you want to do, and enjoy life.

“You never know what will happen. We just need time. We will keep it private for now, especially about what happened. So let’s see what happens.”