Tomas “The Air Machete” Machac secured his place in the semi-finals of Bastide Médical UTS Nîmes 2025 by defeating Gael “La Monf” Monfils by three quarters to one (16-10, 8-19, 19-7, 18-10) and continued his unblemished record in the UTS format. Machac, who won UTS Guadalajara last time out in his tour debut, made an excellent start, despite Monfils saving two quarter points.
The Frenchman came out fighting in the second quarter, using the underarm serve in successive points to bamboozle his opponent. However, The Air Machete was fired up and flying in the third quarter, taking it 19-7 despite Monfils’ attempted tweener on quarter point. Machac sealed his place in a second consecutive UTS semi-final, continuing his undefeated run in the format.
“Honestly, it feels good,” Machac said of the UTS format. “The format is nice. It’s a little bit different than usual. So I always like challenges and [I’m] enjoying to play UTS.” He will face Alex “The Demon” de Minaur on Saturday, April 5, 2025. De Minaur is also enjoying a winning streak in the UTS format, having won last time out at the London Grand Final in 2024.
“I don’t have any tactic,” Machac said of the prospect of the semi-final. “He’s playing really good. He has a good season this year, so really looking forward to [playing] against him tomorrow here.”
Monfils reflected on his performance, stating, “It was not the best one for me. He was a much better player than me. As you can see, the adaptation of him was better. I think he had way more time than me on clay court. So credit to him. He played well. So I need to have a little bit more time on clay court.”
He continued, “He’s a great player, won a lot of matches…he has a very physical game. Loves playing from the back. He’s not doing many mistakes and has an incredible defense. So, of course, a format like that with one serve will suit his game percentage.”
The semi-finals are set at Bastide Médical UTS Nîmes 2025 after a thrilling first day of action in front of a record UTS crowd of 8,000 fans at Arena de Nimes. Alex “The Demon” de Minaur will take on Tomas “The Air Machete” Machac, as two incredible unbeaten streaks in the format will be on the line.
De Minaur’s last appearance in UTS was at the London Grand Final in 2024, where he lifted the lightning bolt trophy. Meanwhile, Machac made his debut at UTS Guadalajara, taking to the format with ease and winning the title there.
In the other semi-final, Andrey “Rublo” Rublev will be looking for a record third UTS title as he faces Casper “The Ice Man” Ruud. Rublev, with new coach Marat Safin looking on, began Friday’s play with a solid win over Ben “The Mountain” Shelton, taking the match 18-11, 20-7, 11-14, 19-7.
De Minaur faced not just Ugo “The Commander” Humbert but a noisy home crowd, but came through with a close victory of 15-14, 13-12, 17-9. Ruud took on Alexei “The Sniper” Popyrin, a late replacement for the injured Holger Rune, and shone on his beloved clay, winning 17-13, 20-6, 16-10.
Machac completed the day by upsetting the French fans once again, beating Gael “La Monf” Monfils, 16-10, 8-19, 19-7, 18-10.
The semi-finals begin at 1pm local time on Saturday, April 5, 2025, with the first classification match—Popyrin versus Shelton—starting at 12 noon.
