Sports News

Plíšková lifts Brisbane title for second time in row for career 12th title; Czech-US pair Peschkeová and Melichar take doubles crown in Brisbane; successful return for Berdych but no fairy tale finish; and 14 Czech crews taking part in 2019 Dakar Rally.

Karolína Plíšková, photo: ČTK / AP Photo / Tertius Pickard

Plíšková takes 12th title of career in Brisbane

Karolína Plíšková, photo: ČTK / AP Photo / Tertius Pickard

Czech tennis star Karolína Plíšková has gotten her season off to the perfect start by lifting the women’s title at the Brisbane International in Australia.

The one-time world number one lost the first set in Sunday’s final against Lesia Tsurenko but eventually secured a 4-6 7-5 6-2 victory, with the Ukrainian twisting her ankle in the final set.

Plíšková’s second title in a row in Brisbane was the 12th title of the 26-year-old’s career.

That result has also seen her leapfrog compatriot Petra Kvitová – who exited the tournament in the second round – to seventh in the latest WTA rankings.

Peschkeová and Melichar lift women’s doubles title in Brisbane

Květa Peschkeová, photo: si.robi CC BY-SA 2.0

The Czech-American pairing of Květa Peschkeová and Nicole Melichar won the doubles competition at the Brisbane International, beating Taiwanese sisters Hao-Ching Chan and Latish Chan 6-1 6-1 in Saturday’s final.

Peschkeová and Melichar (who was born in Brno) had previously overcome the Czech world numbers ones in women’s doubles, Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková, in the semi-finals in Brisbane.

Berdych reaches final on comeback in Doha but no fairy tale ending

The former Czech men’s number one Tomáš Berdych made a return to the court last week after being side-lined for six months with a back injury.

He could hardly have asked for a better comeback after reaching the final at the Qatar Open, which was only his fourth ATP final since 2015.

However, there was no fairy tale finish in Doha as Berdych lost 4-6 6-3 3-6 to Roberto Bautista Agut in Saturday’s final.

14 Czech crews participating in 2019 Dakar Rally

Dakar Rally, photo: ČTK / PR / BUGGYRA media

Fourteen Czech crews are taking part in this year’s Dakar Rally, which got underway on Monday. Among the country’s hopefuls is Martin Prokop, who came seventh in the car category last year.

Czech trucks have a strong tradition in the race and the team of Aleš Loprais, Martin Kolomý and Martin Macík will be hoping to improve on their fifth place finish in 2018.

This year’s edition of the Dakar Rally is taking place solely in Peru, with 500 participants competing on a 5,500-kilometre route.