03.06.2015 10:10:23 | “Czechs have priority here. We try to give a chance to Czech tennis hopes at the UniCredit Czech Open and if I look back the participation of only five Czechs has been the lowest in the recent years. It’s true we had a wild card ready for Lukáš Rosol who then advanced at Roland Garros in doubles and didn’t come to Prostějov. There were eight Czechs in the main event and three of them eventually made it through to the semi-finals last year. This year, two remained after the first round: Jiří Veselý and Jan Hernych,” said the tournament director Petra Černošková after the first round of singles. Similarly like in the previous years, Černošek’s intention was to attract as many Czech players as possible to Prostějov.
“The Czech elite belongs to the tournament which boasts the status of Czech Open. Where else can they present themselves if not here? Besides Davis Cup, there is basically no other chance,“ said the general manager of TK PLUS agency which is behind this tournament. Tomáš Berdych, as a Top Ten player, cannot participate in the tournament according to the challenger rules. That’s why it was only Lukáš Rosol who was missing from the Czech elite. “Lukáš participated in the doubles in Paris. He advanced and, as a result, he could not play in Prostějov. We had a wild card ready for him and we preliminarily agreed that he would play here. It’s a pity, he would sure be one of the tournament favourites,“ said Černošek.
Two Czechs remained in the tournament after the first round: the defending champion Jiří Veselý who has defeated Fucsovics of Hungary, and Jan Hernych who has knocked out Golubjov of Kazakhstan. Radek Štěpánek lost to Mathieu of France, Adam Pavlásek was defeated by Lajovic of Serbia, Jan Mertl by Ghem of Brazil at the very beginning of the tournament. Veselý is playing the qualifier Axel Michon of France (318th ATP) and Hernych is meeting Dusan Lajovic of Serbia who has ousted Pavlásek.
