Czech tennis player Tomas Machac and Frenchman Ugo Humbert were the biggest surprises of the day at the ATP 250 tournament in Adelaide, as they defeated the top two seeds and will face each other in the final. In the first semifinal, Machac recovered from a slow start to defeat American Tommy Paul 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 after one hour and 51 minutes of play. In the first set, Machac lacked efficiency, failing to convert any of his four break-point opportunities, while Paul had three and converted two to take the lead. However, from the second set onwards, Machac significantly raised his level, securing one break in the second set and two more in the third to claim the victory and a spot in the final of this tournament, which serves as a warm-up for the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open. Thanks to an excellent week, Machac is almost assured of entering the top 30 and could even rise to 24th place if he wins his second ATP title this Saturday night (he has only won in Acapulco 2025). Next was Humbert's turn, who overcame a tough match against Spanish player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4) after two and a half hours of play. Humbert, at 27, wants to return to his best level that allowed him to be in the top 15 (he is currently 36th), was only able to tip the scales in his favor in the decisive tie-break, where he remained calm to eliminate the top seed in the tournament. In this way, the Frenchman will be seeking his eighth ATP title, which would also allow him to reach the 24th position in the rankings. Davidovich Fokina, for his part, continues to live a nightmare, as despite being 15th in the rankings and at the peak of his career, he has still not won any ATP title at the age of 26. All ATP tournament activities are covered by the Argentine News Agency.
