03.06.2015 12:36:04 | How does the non-playing captain Jaroslav Navrátil evaluate the 22nd edition of the UniCredit Bank? “The tournament has great players. There were Czech players, Granollers of Spain who’s playing great, the first seeded Martin Kližan of Slovakia, and Radek Štěpánek. On the other hand, a few great players including the two Czechs: Radek Štěpánek and Adam Pavlásek, have been ousted. It is good that the defending champion and one of the favourites Jirka Veselý goes on. Radek’s elimination is a great loss for the tournament. However, Mathieu of France is still a great player and a former number twelve in the world. We have to admit that Radek did not play up to his standard after his fall in the first set.
Radek must have had great expectations regarding his participation in Prostějov. He played well in Paris and he knew he was in form. Lajovic also showed experienced performance on clay. There is no weak player in the draw, the playing field is very level,“ said Jaroslav Navrátil.
Besides Tomáš Berdych who, due to being the number five in the world, could not play anyway, all the remaining members of the Davis Cup team have regularly attended the UniCredit Czech Open. Only Lukáš Rosol is missing this year. “I think it’s a pity not only for the tournament but also for him. He made it through to the quarter-finals last year. He could win some points which he needs so badly for the singles ranking. He promised he would come if he lost the singles. It should have been a priority for him to play in Prostějov rather than playing the doubles in Paris.“
Who does Navrátil consider a singles favourite? “Jiří Veselý for sure and also Martin Kližan who defeated Gombos after eight match points. Having overcome all the troubles in the first round, he can be very dangerous and possibly make his way to the finals.“
