02.06.2016 17:33:55 | “Fifteen top hundred players applied for the twenty third UniCredit Czech Open this year. Besides Tomáš Berdych and Radek Štěpánek, who was delayed by the doubles in Paris, the entire Czech elite has appeared in Prostějov. Of course, we wanted to promote the tournament by something special. Thus, we invited Ivan Lendl and asked him to become the ambassador of our tournament. I and my wife Petra sent an email to Ivan and he replied immediately. We met one more time at the tournament in Miami and we agreed very quickly,“ said Miroslav Černošek at the beginning of the press conference with Ivan Lendl. “It’s very prestigious for us that Ivan, the best player in the history of Czechoslovak tennis and the eight-time Grand Slam champion, took the offer.“
Did Ivan take time to consider the offer? “Not at all. I have many friends here in Prostějov, both old and new, and I always like to see them. I also like to tournament. I’ve been here a couple of times. We always agree very quickly with Mirek Černošek. Actually, there was not much to talk about.“
How important are the tournaments like UniCredit Czech Open for young players? “It’s the same in all countries. Home tournaments are a great advantage for the home players. Organizers have wildcards which they primarily give to young hopes. They can win some points and improve their rankings. We give two wildcards at our place every week. When we started to used them, one of our young players won the final and advanced from No. 2,000 to No. 1,200. It was a great leap! If he succeeds one more time, he will reach the top 800 and he will be able to appear in qualifications at bigger tournaments. It also applies for the Czech Republic. There are for example Jiří Veselý and Adam Pavlásek here in Prostějov. How did they start? They received wildcards at home tournaments.“
