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Australian Open 2026: Tomas Machac stuns Stefanos Tsitsipas
22 Jan 2026

Czech Republic's Tomas Machac stunned former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the 2026 Australian Open on Thursday.

The match, a four-set thriller, saw Machac win 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) on Margaret Court Arena.

Machac, who recently won his second tour-level title in Adelaide, beat Grigor Dimitrov in his opening round.

The former has never gone past the fourth round at Grand Slams.

Machac's resilience shines through
Match highlights

Despite appearing to control the match early on, Machac showed incredible resilience to fight through two tiebreaks.

Even when fatigue set in, he kept his cool while Tsitsipas struggled with a lower-body injury.

The latter won the second set after earning a crucial break at 4-2.

While the third and fourth sets were neck-to-neck, Machac shone in the tiebreaks.

A look at match stats
Stats

Machac won a total of 137 points, while Tsitsipas had more winners (64) and aces (23) in the match.

The Greek star had a win percentage of 81 and 52 in the first and second serves, respectively. Machac won all three of his break points.

Tsitsipas (52), who had more unforced errors than Machac (38), recorded eight double-faults.

Tsitsipas's early exit raises questions
Performance review

The defeat marks another early Grand Slam exit for Tsitsipas. The Greek star hasn't reached the third round of a Major since 2024.

Despite defeating Shintaro Mochizuki in his opener, another four-set thriller, physical issues once again plagued the Greek star.

During his match against Machac, he even had to call for medical assistance as he struggled with a lower-body injury.

Tsitsipas now has a 25-9 record at the Australian Open and 68-34 at Grand Slams.

Machac's next challenge
Challenge

As mentioned, Machac won the Adelaide International before the ongoing Australian Open. He is now 7-1 in the season.

Machac, who hasn't gone past the fourth round at Majors, will now face fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti at the Australian Open. The latter beat Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.

In their only ATP head-to-head fixture, from 2024 (Marseille), Machac claimed a straight-set win.