09.06.2018 14:22:14 | The Serbian player of Hungarian ancestry Laslo Djere appeared in the final of MONETA Czech Open like in 2015. He is familiar with the Prostějov club since he became the junior champion of the Czech Republic as a member of the AGROFERT Tennis Club in the past. On his was to the final, Djere defeated the first seeded Garcia-Lopez of Spain. He was the favourite in the final match in which he faced Jaume Munar of Spain. The Spaniard ousted Jürgen Melzer of Austria in the semis and many thought he would not be a hard opponent for the Serbian. However, it was all otherwise!
Tenacious Jaume Munar did not give the Serbian almost any chance. The Spaniard staked everything on certainty. The more Djere pushed and wanted to be active, the more errors he made. The Serbian lost his serve four times in the first set while Munar only one. The first set was under the Spaniard’s control – 6:1! In the second set, the Spaniard was leading 3:0, 4:1 and eventually won it 6:3! Jaume Munar became a great surprise of MONETA Czech Open!
Surprisingly, the Spaniard dominated in the match from the beginning. Did Jaume Munar expect such a course of the match? “I think the beginning was very difficult for both of us. We were both a bit nervous and the match was not going well for either of us. Maybe, I just put a bit more attitude to it. I was more aggressive and even shouted when I won my points. I was more competitive, which actually was most important for the entire week, from the first match to the final,” said Munar after the final.
From 1:1 to 4:1, the Spaniard was beating his opponent badly but then it seemed he slowed down a bit. What was going on? “I don’t think I slowed down. Laslo played two good returns at 4:2 and I didn’t move well on the court and made some mistakes. I served well at 30:40, played a good forehand, but it was out by two centimetres. It was just bad luck. But I didn’t give up and made sure that every ball would be in from then on.”
What did eventually decide the match? “What was most important was that I was more focused. The opponent was more nervous. Well, I was nervous too, but I think it was my competitiveness which eventually decided the match.”
Which opponent in the entire tournament was most difficult for the champion? “The match against Pavlásek was definitely the most difficult one for me this week. I was losing 2:5 in the last set and Pavlásek was on the serve. Mentally, it was undoubtedly the hardest match. However, in terms of the tennis style, Jürgen Melzer was the hardest opponent for me. As a lefty, he played his forehand to my backhand which made it really difficult for me. When I came to Prostějov I wanted to win the tournament and it finally happened. I really enjoyed my time here. Of course, every tournament is great when you win it. However, honestly speaking, I’m really glad I could play here. The Czech Republic is a fantastic place and the tournament in Prostějov is a big event. If I can, I’ll sure be back next year.”
