01.06.2015 10:55:23 | How is Petra Černošková, the tournament director for the seventeenth time, satisfied with the tournament. “We have achieved the maximum possible. The growing competition often prevents us from attracting players to Prostejov who we would desire. However, we still have nine players from the top hundred which is, considering other competing tournaments, very good. The situation with Roland Garros in Paris has, as usual, repeated itself: we always have some expectations, preliminary agreements, but the first week of the Grand Slam tournament changes everything.”
"Some players get injured, some advance or play well in doubles, such as Rosol this year. Tipsarevic got injured and did not even play in Paris. Darcis of Belgium who was going to play in Prostějov had the same problem. However, our tournament will present players of great quality this year as well as wonderful tennis from the first rounds. The first seeded Martin Kližan is a very interesting player. He has already been the 24th player in the world. The very first round offers a great derby. Kližan is playing Norbertem Gombosem, his colleague from the Davis who defends the last year’s finals here in Prostejov. There are strong and equal players here. Pavlásek who was a great surprise last year is playing a tough opponent Dušan Lajovic in the first round.“
The tournament organizers decided to grand wild cards to renowned players this year: Jiří Veselý, the tournament defender, Santiago Giraldo of Columbia, Marcel Granollers of Spain, and Martin Kližan of Slovakia who is going to be the first seed of the tournament. “Rosol’s wild card has been granted to Santiago Giraldo of Columbia. All of those who have been granted wild cards are renowned players. Kližan played the semis in Barcelona in which he lost to Nishikori of Japan. Granollers played the fourth round and made it through among the last sixteen in Madrid. Originally, we thought that a wild card would be granted to Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay who lost to Monfiels in five set at Roland Garros. He told us he was very tired and we did not want to take the risk that he would be ousted in the first round and our tournament would lose its first seed. Cuevas is currently 23rd in ATP rankings. Cuevas won in Sao Paulo and lost to Federerem in the finals in Istanbul… We were really scared and it was very fair of him to be open with us. Not all top tennis players behave like that…“
