Machac on Olympics relationship speculation: 'The story deserves a movie or a book at least!'

The biggest story of tennis at the Paris Olympics was Novak Djokovic securing the gold medal, the most important title he was missing. The Serbian emerging victorious was not a surprise.

What is a surprise is that nearly a week later, there is a tennis-related story making international headlines with people from outside of the sport declaring it worthy of a movie, even earning a segment on the TODAY Show, one of the biggest morning shows in the United States.

That story is the gold-medal mixed doubles run of Czech mixed doubles pair Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova. Two days before the start of the competition, news circulated in the Czech media that the longtime partners had separated three weeks prior.

“I think everybody was curious from the beginning, because we said that we are not together before the tournament,” Machac told ATPTour.com. “The media tried to push it before the Olympics. I don't know why, but it was one or two days before the game, so it wasn't easy for us. But we have a good relationship between us together.”

The Czechs won their first three matches in straight sets, including a first-round victory against top-seeded Germans Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev, who clinched the United Cup for their country earlier this year. The deeper Machac and Siniakova advanced, the closer fans paid attention to the nature of their relationship. They had separated, but were getting along perfectly well on court.

The big question after they claimed the gold medal against China’s Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen and shared a celebratory kiss was whether they were back together.

“Everybody was watching us, what we are going to do, or how does it look like. But we shared a lot of time together there, so I think everybody was curious about it,” Machac said. “But after in Czech, they started to ask lots of questions. But we keep our privacy, so I think it's the better way, to keep your privacy.”

At the same time, Machac completely understands the fans’ fascination with their story and does not mind it.

“I think the story deserves a movie or a book at least,” Machac said. “I think somebody has to pick us up and say that we need to write it, or we need to film the movie, because this is not happening every day for sure. I think it's a really interesting story. And let's see, in the future, maybe we can share something.”

For Machac, the Olympics are of the “highest value”. Beyond the relationship talk, simply participating in the event for the first time was a dream come true. His goal was to win a medal of some kind. To depart Paris with gold was even more special. “If you lost in the final, you have silver, it's really nice,” Machac said, before cracking a smile. “But gold is gold.”

“It's ridiculous. From the beginning, I was just happy that I can be there, part of the group, part of the team. And to play every event there — the normal doubles, mixed doubles, singles, it was really tough from the beginning. But it was great that I can share the gold with Kate,” Machac said. “We managed to beat great players and reach the gold medal. And after the ceremony and everything, it was mind blowing.”

Machac was proud that despite the attention, he and Siniakova were able to prove they “are pretty strong”. They were rewarded with a memory for a lifetime.

“Nothing is impossible, it's not true. Everything is possible. We just showed the world that this is possible. And I think life and everything writes the story,” Machac said. “You don't know what is going to happen in two days, in one day. Just live life as you want to live, and just believe and work on your stuff that you want to do, and enjoy life.

“You never know what is going to happen. We just need time. We will, for sure, keep the privacy right now, especially with what happened. So let's see what's going to happen.”