In Sports News this Monday: Berdych facing bogey-man Nadal in Australian Open quarter-final; Kvitová exits in third round in Melbourne; Voráček plays down equaling All-Star Game points record; Rosický is star man for Arsenal; and Koudelka tops World Cup podium in Japan.
Berdych preparing for Australian Open quarter-finals clash with bete noire Nadal
Tomáš Berdych, photo: CTK
The Czech men’s number one Tomáš Berdych has made it through to the last eight at tennis’s Australian Open after overcoming local player Bernard Tomic 6:2 7:6 6:2 on Sunday. Next up for the world number seven should be a stiffer challenge in the form of Rafal Nadal. Indeed, the Spaniard is very much a bogey-man for Berdych, who hasn’t beaten him in 17 attempts over a period of over eight years. But will it be different when the pair meet in Tuesday’s quarter-final? There has been speculation about Nadal’s fitness, while the Czech has had a pretty much perfect tournament to date. But Berdych says he is just focusing on his own game.
“I’m not going to pay attention to all that stuff: if Rafa will be fit, if he won’t be fit, etcetera, etcetera. Once a player decides to take part in a tournament I think he has enough sense to know what he needs to do… I’m looking forward to it. I’m in the best position that I could be in at this stage, and that gives me confidence – and I’ll take that into the next match.”
Kvitová exits in third round in Melbourne
Petra Kvitová, photo: CTK
The leading Czech women’s player, Petra Kvitová, left Melbourne early after a third-round 4-6 5-7 defeat at the hands of American teenager Madison Keys. The fourth seed at least did better than last year, when she suffered a shock first round exit in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Voráček equals points record in NHL All-Star game
Jakub Voráček, Marc-Andre Fleury, photo: CTK
Czech ice hockey player Jakub Voráček notched up a record-equaling six points – for three goals and three assists – in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus on Sunday. But the Philadelphia Flyers forward played down the achievement of matching a record set by the great Mario Lemieux, pointing out that three of those points had come from secondary assists.
Star turn for Rosický in FA Cup tie
Tomáš Rosický, photo: Miroslav Bureš
Czech soccer captain Tomáš Rosický starred in Arsenal’s 3:2 FA Cup defeat of Brighton on Sunday. Rosický bossed the game, setting up one goal and scoring another with a sweetly taken volley. The midfielder began just five games for Arsenal in the whole of 2014 but this year has already made the starting line-up four times. The Gunners’ manager Arsene Wenger paid a nice tribute to the 34-year-old after the game, saying if you love football, you love Rosický.
Koudelka tops World Cup podium in Sapporo
Ski jumper Roman Koudelka has again topped the World Cup podium. His latest first-place finish came in Japan’s Sapporo on Sunday and leaves the 25-year-old Czech fourth overall in the standings.
