01.06.2013 13:58:51 | Last year's Prostějov challenger champion is back, a wild card opened the door for the defending champion, Florian Mayer lost to the Uzbek Denis Istomin in the first round in Paris. How did he do in the Haná Region last year? Last year's third-seeded German Florian Mayer, the winner of nine challengers, fulfilled the experts' forecasts as one of the UniCredit Czech Open favourites. He beat the tall Polish Jerzy Janowitz in semifinals in two sets, deciding each one at the very end. What did Mayer expect in the finals with Jan Hájek?
"It will definitely be a difficult match. Jan won three times here, he is in good shape. If I am to have a chance then I have to play my best tennis," Mayer added. Hájek hardly gave Štěpánek in the semifinals any chance, also in the finals he did an excellent job, the nineteenth year winner was decided by tie-breaks, Mayer beat Hájek 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(3). What did the German Florian Mayer, the nineteenth year winner, say after the finals? "Let's say my performance was good all through the week, the courts are perfect, everything is in one place, the center court has a retractable roof, but I knew that because I play the extra league in this club. I think we played good tennis in the finals, it was dramatic until the end." What decided? "Both tie-breaks, I was winning 5-0 in the first one, 4-0 in the second one, we can say that I basically did not make a mistake. Jan was on the lead in the first set 5-3, he served when the score was 5-4 and that was the turning point. But still – all was decided by both tie-breaks.“
