10.06.2017 14:55:13 | Jiří Veselý was definitely the favourite in the UniCredit Czech Open final. The ATP ranking was in his favour and he was riding a success wave in Prostějov: he did not lose a single set up to the final match against Argentine Federico Delbonis! Jiří Veselý has waited for a tournament title for exactly two years. The last time he held the tournament champions trophy was in Prostějov in June 2015 after beating Djere of Serbia and defending his title from 2014. Veselý has only played Delbonis twice so far: he beat him in three sets at the Svijany Open tournament in Liberec in 2013 and, on the other hand, lost to him on hard surface in three sets in Miami in 2015. What was the Jiří Veselý’s journey to his third title? He beat Popko of Kazakhstan in the first round, Arevalo of Salvador in the second, Ignatik of Belarus in the quarter-final, Sandgren of the United States in the semi-final and, finally, Federico Delbonis in the final.
The first set saw a number of breaks and the Argentine was finally luckier and won it 7:5. The second set was absolutely dominated by Jiří Veselý who won it 6:1. And the decisive third set? It was all decided in the two final games. Delbonis made a double fault, Veselý was leading 40:0 at 6:5, and only managed to convert the third match point!
What was Veselý thinking at 40:0 when he had three match points? “It was very nervous on my part. I believed I would successfully make the first service and bring it to an end, but we kept on playing. I returned the third match point with a racquet frame and was very happy it was the end. I really wanted to win the tournament very much. I’ve said a few times it was not about points but the tournament is literally a matter of the heart to me.“
Veselý was leading 3:1 in the first set. “I thought it would be easy. However, I made a few errors, didn’t press enough and, most importantly, lost my service three times and lost the first set. Moreover, I lost my service at the very beginning of the second set and, all of a sudden, it became more difficult. Fortunately enough, I broke him back and then I dominated. In the third set, I had three break points at the beginning which I didn’t convert and we were on each other's heels. My performance was not great today; however, what is much more important is that I managed to bring it to a victorious end. “
