05.06.2019 10:38:04 | Tuesday’s program of the MONETA Czech Open tournament saw big surprises: the Czechs Rosol and Veselý as well as the second-seeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain got ousted. The Spaniard lost to Peter Torebko, a German player who currently ranks No. 617 in ATP ranking.
How did Czech players do in the first matches on Tuesday? Pavel Nejedlý (No. 495 ATP) failed in the second round and withdrew from the tournament. He lost to the tenth-seeded Federico Gaio (No. 202 ATP) of Italy in two sets. Václav Šafránek was more successful: he defeated the 14th seeded German Lucas Miedler (No. 238 ATP) in two sets. Therefore, he will play the third round in the ATP Challenger Tour for the second time this year.
“I was very aggressive from the first ball and played so until the end of the match. I’m really happy about it,“ said Šafránek after the victory.
It came as a surprise to many that experienced thirty-three year old Lukáš Rosol (149th ATP) did not advance to the second round. He has already played the quarter final in Cherburk, France and advanced to the main event at Roland Garros this year. Who did he play? The twenty-four year old Benjamin Hassan of Germany (No. 349 ATP) has played the third round at the challenger in Da Nangu and quarter final in Provence this year. However, it was not enough for him to be expected to have a chance against Rosol. The Czech lost the first set in tiebreak and levelled up in the second set. The third set was fatal for him: he was losing 0:4, 1:5 and made two double faults on his serve. Then, the German served for the set and won it 1:6. Rosol took French leave. He naturally did not feel like talking to anyone… “I won’t say anything,“ said Rosol and refused to comment on his performance.
Jiøí Veselý (105th ATP), a three-time champion of the challenger in Prostìjov was a big favourite in the match against the twenty-eight year old Sandro Ehrat. There is no need to mention either player’s achievements, just two numbers will suffice: the Swiss has earned USD 96,610 in prize money so far while Jiøí Veselý USD 3,621,000. The three-time champion Veselý is not having a good season. However, nobody including him expected he would be ousted right in the first match on his home courts. Yet it happened! He was the weaker player from the second set and, in the end, a short break at 3:5 due to a rain shower did not help him either.
“My today’s performance perfectly reflexes my current form. I seems I’ve forgotten how to play tennis. Everything was bad. There was nothing I could build on and I’ve no idea what’s gonna happen next,” said the disappointed Czech player. “I can play a good rally and, in the next one, the ball lands outside the perimeter of the sports facility. I have no confidence and nothing works for me. My today’s performance really had nothing to do with tennis: I made too many mistakes during the match. I really played terribly. This is something I never expected after the first match, it’s getting worse and worse. I’m really disappointed but this is sport,” said Veselý.
