Petra Cernoskova: We couldn’t have wished any better

06.06.2014 11:06:53 | Radek Stepanek and Jiri Vesely have reached the semi-finals which made Petra Cernoskova, the tournament director, really happy. Adam Pavlasek was a great surprise for everybody and Slovak Norbert Gombos, too, wasn’t expected to advance among the final four. What does Petra Cernoskova think about the course of the UniCredit Czech Open up to now? “I’m absolutely satisfied, we couldn’t have wished any better. Three Czech players have reached the semis, as we secretly hoped they would: Stepanek is playing Vesely today and Adam Pavlasek has fantastically advanced to the final four. Moreover, he beat Lukas Rosol.

“Our decision to give him a wild card has proved to be right. I believe that he will continue to play well against Slovak Gombos. He’s played excellent tennis here so far and will be considered a favourite in the clash against Pavlasek. Such position always makes it harder to play well. Be it as it may, Adam’s reaching the semis is a great achievement and he must have realized that he is capable of winning such matches.“

And what about the number of spectators? “It has always been crowded for the semifinals and finals matches. But we have never experienced that so many spectators would come in the course of the tournament. It was not only the central court which was full… The success of the Czech players who have reached the final rounds surely helped to attract the crowd. It proves true again that a tournament may only be successful if the Czech top players take part in it. Radek Stepanek has attracted a number of spectators again. He’s very good with the crowd. He knows how to draw them into the game. Not only does he show wonderful tennis at the court, he also gives a great theatrical performance.“