Czech tennis player Tomas Machac opens Almaty Open against Kazakh teenager Zangar Nurlanuly
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The gist
Czech tennis player Tomas Machac is scheduled to face 18-year-old Kazakh Zangar Nurlanuly at the Almaty Open.
Machac's projected draw also includes a 0-3 head-to-head against Alexander Bublik.
Background
Tomas Machac is a 26-year-old Czech tennis player who plays right-handed and holds a 2026 record of 45-18, including 34-10 on hard courts. He arrives at the Almaty Open, an ATP hard-court event at Almaty Arena with $1,075,160 in prize money, after a run of qualifying and early-round results at the China Open and Shanghai Masters. His projected path in Kazakhstan is steep: draw previews list a possible quarter-final against Alexander Bublik, the 19th-ranked Kazakh on a 10-match winning streak, against whom Machac is 0-3, and a possible semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, against whom he is 0-2.
How it unfolded
- Sep 28, 2026Machac beat Germany's Yannick Hanfmann 7-6 6-4 in the China Open qualifying first round.
- Sep 29, 2026Machac lost to France's Arthur Gea 3-4 in the China Open qualifying final.
- Oct 1, 2026Machac, entered as a lucky loser, lost to Slovak qualifier Alex Molcan 3-2 in the China Open third round.
- Oct 7, 2026Machac beat Chinese wildcard Zhizhen Zhang 1-7 6-6 2 in the Shanghai Masters first round.
- Oct 9, 2026Machac lost to 19th-seeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik 4-6 6-7 in the Shanghai Masters second round.
- Oct 16, 2026Machac was scheduled to play Liam Draxl on Centre Court in the Jinan quarter-finals.
- Oct 20, 2026An Almaty Open draw preview listed Machac's projected path, opening against Zangar Nurlanuly and potentially meeting Bublik in the quarter-finals and Medvedev in the semi-finals.
- Oct 21, 2026Nurlanuly vs Machac was scheduled for Almaty Center Court at 8:00 a.m. UTC.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Tennis Tonic's draw preview notes Machac has a weak 1-7 record against his presumable Almaty opposition.
- Bulls
- Tony's Picks selected Machac as the winner, graded PASS, though it said the price was the reason to leave the matchup alone.
Still unverified
The Nurlanuly vs Machac match page is dated 'date unknown' and shows a 2-0, 6-6 scoreline, so that score is unconfirmed.