06.06.2013 16:07:32 | He is an integral part of Prostejov Challenger, he has participated in all its anniversaries. What are Petr Flasar's memories of the last twelve years? "The tournament has gone through a number of changes. I've been with the challenger since the very beginning at which time it was still a basic tournament as far as the finance is concerned. Over time, we rose from USD 25 thousand to fifty, and then to one hundred. The number of umpires increased accordingly and I had to arrange them. It also improved the level of the tournament and we needed umpires with a higher qualification. Let alone that we played in a hall the first year. It was changed to the outside courts only later. With outside courts, the level of the tournament increased even further which resulted in building the retractable roof over the Centre Court. It really was a great help and I can't remember a year in which we wouldn't have used the roof at least once."
How many umpires do you need to arrange for the tournament? "Currently, we need thirty five line umpires, in particular for the opening qualification which is quite extensive. There are four gold, silver, and bronze badge chair empires nominated by the ATP and I have to arrange additional umpires from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We have the total of eight chair umpires here, ten for the qualification.“
And what countries do the Prostejov Challenger supervisors come from? "Over the period of twenty years, we've had several supervisors here. For example, from Sweden, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Portugal. For the last three years, we've had Stephan Cretoise of France here. As for chair umpires, we have an umpire who judged the finals of a Grand Slam. He's from Australia and his name is John Blom.“
What year do you like to recall most and which one would you rather forget?
„From my position of the right hand of the supervisor, I have to arrange everything in relation to courts to make it possible to play. Availability of the courts, coordination of umpires, ball kids, changing the times of matches, that's all my duty. What's worst is when it starts raining. Then, there are mandatory changeovers, reorganization, changes of the times of matches. We have to play in accordance with the program as it is because it's a compressed program, by two days shorter as compared to other challengers. That's why there's not much time left. However, I cannot say that any year would be absolutely bad or good. We've been through matches until 1.30 a.m., until 10 p.m. yesterday, but we always managed to finish the match. Thus, I can't tell I would enjoy recalling some and wouldn't enjoy recalling others. It was very complicated when we played three years together with women. It really was very difficult. More people had to be engaged, there was a lot of arranging, and you never had a time to rest. I can't complain, it's my hobby and I enjoy doing it! That player get knocked out is no good for the tournament, but it makes no difference for me as an umpire.
Considering all that work, do you still have time to watch the matches on the courts? "For example, I watched Jiri yesterday evening and it was a very nice match. Even from the umpire's point of view when there were disputable balls. Later, when they play on three or two courts, I have some time to watch it a little."
Do you remember any really nice match? "Last year, I liked Mayer who eventually won the whole tournament. Those were very nice matches. Of course, I can't forget Jan Hajek's two victories in a row. I would have to consult the draw and check who ever played in here. I often saw some a part of a match as I was on my way from one court to another, but those also were great matches."
