04.06.2014 16:44:31 | “I’ve been at many press conferences with great personalities. But this one is completely different. I’m honoured to be at a press conference with a person who has achieved so much and who is a great friend of mine and my wife,“ said Miroslav Cernosek in his opening speech at the press conference and gave Lendl a period photograph of old Jewish Prostejov.
“The first documentary evidence of the Jewish settlement in Prostejov dates back to 1445. Prostejov was called the Jerusalem of Hana Region.“ During his stay in the Hana Region, Lendl played golf in Slavkov, watched the children’s tennis academy, gave an autograph session, and carefully followed the performance of Czech players at the Czech Open challenger. “I feel at home in Prostejov. Mirek Cernosek manages a really great club. There are great conditions for practising, perfect rehabilitation facilities, and a quality golf court nearby. Most importantly, there are great, honest, and helpful people here. Nothing is a problem to them,“ Lendl said.
He was naturally questioned about his possible cooperation with Tomas Berdych at the press conference.
He said the last time they met was at the tournament in Australia. “Tomas has a wonderful team around him. Everybody does their jobs very well. It would be great for him to win a Grand Slam,“ Lendl said.
What is his recollection of the cooperation with Andy Murray? “It was wonderful and, most importantly, Andy won two Grand Slams: US Open and Wimbledon. On top of that, he won the gold medal at the Olympics in London. Those were great achievements. But I just couldn’t do it any longer. I don’t have time to travel twenty five weeks a year. I’ve received some offers. However, I want to concentrate on my tennis and golf now. I need to practise and play," said Lendl who would consider the role of a consultant. From what he said, it would depend on who would be interested and how much time he would have to dedicate to it. “I hate doing things halfway. I would have to give it more time,“ Lendl said.
What does Lendl think about another victory of the Czech players at the Davis Cup? “It’s very hard to win the Davis Cup, defend the victory, and have a chance to win for the third time. There are so many circumstances such as a favourable draw, no injured players. What is very important is that our boys like to play at Davis Cup. They just enjoy it. They may expect a wild environment at Roland Garros in September. We also had to deal with it at our time. We won once and lost once in France.," said Lendl.
