Jaroslav Navrátil: Let’s Give a Chance to Young Players and Be Patient

08.09.2020 13:56:31 | On Monday Jiří Lehečka defeated excellent Ferreiro Silva of Portugal in an almost three-hour match. He rose up in the first set in which he was losing 2:4 and the Portuguese was getting ready to convert the few final fifteens. However, Lehečka did not give up and eventually turned the match around. “It is exactly in these moments that players show their nature, whether they are able to convert important points in decisive moments and, most importantly, whether they have guts to do so. Jiří proved to be one of those yesterday,” said Jaroslav Navrátil, the captain of the Czech Davis Cup team who, at the same time, holds the prestigious position of the head coach of TK AGROFERT in Prostějov.

He knows very well it is impossible to enter great tennis events without wild cards today. “It’s great for young Czechs to have a chance to play at tournaments such as MONETA Czech Open and gain some experience.” he said.

It is clear Czech young hopes enter the main event primarily thanks to wild cards. “There’s simply no other way. The Prostějov tournament has a great reputation worldwide and that’s why it attracts excellent players from the first and second hundred. There has really been huge competition recently. That’s also why there are fewer Czech players in the tournament. We all know that a generation change is taking place now after Tomáš Berdych and Radek Štěpánek have retired. It was taken for granted that had player in the world’s top fifty which is not the case now. But we have to be patient. Czech tennis has a few young players who are gradually getting better and I believe they will climb the rankings. We just need some time.“

Is Jaroslav Navrátil satisfied with the new Czech wave? “Our hopes include Dalibor Svrčina, Jiří Lehečka, Jonáš Forejtek, Michael Vrbenský and Zdeněk Kolář. Vít Kopřiva is also improving. Some have already got a chance in the Davis Cup and they did quite well. They deserve a chance and we have to give it to them so that they can improve. But I have to say again: let’s be patient.”