Novak Djokovic's 3R opponent Tomas Machac flaunts head-to-head record against Serb ahead of Australian Open battle (Exclusive)

Novak Djokovic's third-round opponent at the 2025 Australian Open will be Czechia's Tomas Machac. This will be Djokovic's third meeting with Machac on the ATP Tour, with their head-to-head balanced at 1-1.

Machac started his campaign by thrashing India's Sumit Nagal 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 in the opening round on Sunday, January 12. He then drew Reilly Opelka, the big-serving American, in the second round and faced some difficulty in overcoming the challenge.

Opelka pushed the Czech to five sets, out of which three were decided in tiebreakers. Machac eventually prevailed 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 after battling for nearly three and half hours.

On Thursday, the 24-year-old succeeded in his doubles effort as well. He paired up with China's Zhizhen Zhang to beat the duo of Theo Arribage and Guido Andreozzi 7-5, 6-4. Following the win, Machac reached Melbourne Park's interview terrace for media responsibilities.

After finishing his interaction with a couple of Czech reporters, he joined Sportskeeda exclusively. In the brief chat, Machac confidently flaunted his one-on-one record with Djokovic ahead of the third-round meeting.

"I'm looking forward to this match," the No. 26 seed said. "We have 1-1 for a head-to-head. I’m really looking forward to the battle and I’ll definitely enjoy it. I'm going for every match with confidence because otherwise there’s no chance to win even the best so really looking forward to it."

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Novak Djokovic and Tomas Machac's battles in brief

Novak Djokovic (Getty)

Novak Djokovic and Tomas Machac first played against each other during the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships, fighting for a place in the Round of 16. The match went on for two hours and 28 minutes as it witnessed three sets.

The Serb took the opening set but Machac equalized in the second. The decider was extended to a tiebreak, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion eventually prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(1), hitting 12 aces against his opponent's six. He remained afloat in the tournament until losing to Russia's Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.

The two met for the second time in Geneva last year after the veteran surprisingly entered the ATP 250 claycourt event before the French Open. Playing for a spot in the final this time, Tomas Machac proved the better player despite being bageled by the Serb in the second set.

The Czech won it 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 in two hours and seven minutes to tie the head-to-head but lost to Norway's Casper Ruud in the final.