02.06.2013 14:26:47 | Seven titles were achieved by Czech tennis players during the Prostějov Challenger nineteen-year history – Jan Hájek won three times (2006, 2009 and 2010), Bohdan Ulihrach two times (1997, 2001), Radek Štěpánek won in 2003 and 2004. Argentina could celebrate three times in the Morava National Tennis Center after the victories of Guillermo Coria (2002), Sergio Roitman (2007), and Agustin Calleri (2008). Australia won two titles in the Haná Region, Richard Fromberg succeeded in years 1997 and 1998. The Slovak Karol Kučera (1994), the Italian Andrea Gaudenzi (1995), the Russion Andrei Chesnokov (1996), the Swede Andreas Vinciguera (2000), the Finn Jarkko Nieminen (2005), Yuri Schukin from Kazakhstan (2011) and the German Florian Mayer last year also made the list of champions. Czech tennis clearly leads the UniCredit Czech Open statistics.
And what about the participation in the finals and the defeated finalists? Czech players made it to the finals eight times, out of that Jiří Novák three times in 1995, 2001, and 2002, Argentina and Spain two times, Brazil; Australia, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Slovakia were represented by one player in the finals. What is the backstage director Miroslav Černošek's ideal recipe for a perfect tournament climax? "It is not that complicated; I always wish that the top-seeded players and of course a Czech player manage to get to the final rounds. If he is from our club that is even better and it is also a guarantee that the center court will be full. Apart from that, there is a very attractive exhibition duel planned before the finals between Carlos Moya and Jiří Novák," says Miroslav Černošek.
Prostějov Tournament Finalists
1994 Kučera – Zdražila
1995 Gaudenzi (Italy) – Novák
1996 Chesnokov (Russia) – Clavet (Spain)
1997 Ulihrach – Meligeni (Brazil)
1998 Fromberg – Illie (both Australia)
1999 Fromberg – Ferrero (Spain)
2000 Vinciguera (Sweden) – Golmard (France)
2001 Ulihrach – Novák
2002 Coria (Argentina) – Novák
2003 Štěpánek – Puerta (Argentina)
2004 Štěpánek – Tabara
2005 Nieminen (Finland) – I. Minář
2006 Hájek – Hrbatý (Slovakia)
2007 Roitman (Argentina) – Mayer (Germany)
2008 Calleri – Arguello (oba Argentina)
2009 Hájek – Darcis (Belgium)
2010 Hájek – Štěpánek
2011 Schukin (Kazakhstan) – Cipolla (Italy)
2012 Mayer (Germany) – Hájek
