06.06.2018 12:33:59 | Czech tennis had four chances to advance to the quarter-finals on Wednesday. However, the first one disappeared very quickly. The match between Václav Šafránek and Geraldem Melzer took only a bit over an hour and Šafránek’s dream of advancing to the quarter final came to nothing a bit too quickly. Gerald Meltzer of Austria has beaten Cecchinato of Italy, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros, this year. The Austrian was very active. He did not make many errors and pushed the Czech player into defensive positions. That was also why Šafránek only won a single game in the match.
“It was too fast for me. I know that when Melzer has enough time for his tennis and is not playing under pressure, he’s very hard to play. He plays very fast and has a big serve and forehand. His playing style does not suit me. I had no time to respond to the opponent’s offensive play. However, I felt well physically. The result may not perfectly reflect the course of the match, but it is what it is,“ said Šafránek, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t even know how I should evaluate the tournament after such a defeat. But I managed to turn around an almost lost match in the first round. It could’ve been worse,“ said the Czech player. Let us point out that Šafránek battled with Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round and eventually, after almost two and a half hours, sent the third seeded Spaniard home.
