Tomas Machac added another chapter to a long tale of Czech success Down Under, claiming his second ATP title with a three-set triumph over Ugo Humbert in the final of the Adelaide International.
No.8 seed Machac capped an impressive week in the South Australian capital by beating Humbert 6-4 6-7(2) 6-2 at The Drive on Saturday.
Machac's only previous title was at Acapulco last year, while the No.8 seed also squared his head-to-head ledger against Humbert, who took out the pair's only previous meeting, in the semifinals at Tokyo 2024.
"I was very happy with the performance that I was playing the whole week," Machac said. "I think the level of the tennis was pretty high.
"Especially today, Ugo was playing great tennis as always.
"In the third set I brought a great level of tennis and I managed to break him (the) first time in the third set, and I just kept the strong level."
Machac fell in arrears 0-3 before turning the first set in his favour when he broke in the fifth game.
He carried that momentum to take five of six games, attacking Humbert's second serve - which had been a strength of the Frenchman's all week - and claiming the opening set in 51 minutes.
Machac's hot shotmaking cooled fractionally in the second set, which Humbert took in a tiebreak to draw level.
Machac rebuked his team briefly, then got back to the task at hand.
"I had to put a lot of better emotions out there (after) the second set to my team," Machac said.
"Because I need to, how to say, not keep it, but say something to the team, something aggressive, because I need to sometimes put the emotions up.
"I just kept the focus in the third set."
Machac broke twice in the deciding set, securing the trophy when Humbert missed a volley for his 45th unforced error.
Machac became the second Czech in three years - after Jiri Lehecka in 2024 - to take out the Adelaide crown.
Countrymen Ivan Lendl (1989-90) and Petr Korda (1998) are past AO champions, while Tomas Berdych made successive semifinals at Melbourne Park between 2014 and 2015.
"I think we play great in Australia because the surface and the conditions are, I think we like it, all three of us," Machac said of himself, Lehecka and Jakub Mensik.
"It always shows that we can play with the best players in the world, that we can bring this level."
Humbert, pursuing an eighth career title, became more fatigued and error-prone as the match wore on, a legacy of his tough semifinal win against top seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday night, which the Frenchman took in a third-set tiebreak.
"Maybe I was not really fresh, because last night I finished my match late," said Humbert, who will take on eighth seed and fellow lefty Ben Shelton in the Australian Open opening round.
"I felt, at the end of the second set, when we started the third one, I had a little bit less energy.
"But he didn't give me anything, so just congratulations to him.
"It was a close one, but he was better, so congrats."