Sports News
Czech tennis number one Jiri Novak reached the semi-final of the Paris Masters, in what he describes as the second best season of his career. In football, a record crowd at Banik Ostrava saw the league leaders go six points clear of nearest rivals Sparta, who lost to bogey team Zlin, and Czech internationals have been in the news around Europe. Czech ice hockey league leaders Pardubice won their first game after five outings, and legendary goaltender Dominik Hasek is going through a difficult period at the moment.
Novak reaches semi-final of Paris Masters in "second best season of career"
"All that separated us was a couple of balls. It wasn't a question of physical fitness but state of mind, and perhaps skill. Pavel's excellent play surprised me a bit: he played great at the net and at the baseline, his serve was very good and he was just that little bit luckier."
Record attendance at Ostrava as leaders go six points clear of Sparta
It was an eventful weekend in the Czech football league, with champions Sparta losing 1:0 away to Zlin, who have proved something of a bogey team for the Prague club in recent seasons. League leaders Banik Ostrava are now six points ahead of Sparta, after a 2:1 home win over north Moravian rivals Olomouc. The city of Ostrava has reportedly gone football crazy with the success of their club and Saturday's game saw a record attendance of almost 18,000. Teplice lost 2:0 away to Plzen, while second-from-bottom Viktoria Zizkov scored their first victory in almost three months, when they beat Pribram 1:0. And Slavia Prague, who were due to play on Monday evening, are reported to have serious financial problems. To add to Slavia fans' woes, senior player Pavel Kuka has announced he is leaving the club after Christmas.
Czech footballers make headlines around Europe
Czech "legionnaires" have also been in the news, with international striker Jan Koller netting two to help his club Dortmund to a 3:2 win over Hamburg, and midfielder Tomas Galasek converting a last minute penalty to give Ajax Amsterdam all three points against Alkmaar. Young Czech striker Vaclav Sverkos also made his mark, with a goal for Bundesliga strugglers Moenchengladbach. Meanwhile, the Italian press are saying Czech international captain Pavel Nedved, who shone for Juventus in their draw against leaders AC Milan on Sunday, is a sure bet to be named European Player of the Year.
Extraliga leaders Pardubice beat Trinec in win first win in five games
Czech ice hockey Extraliga leaders Pardubice won their first game in five attempts on Sunday, when they managed to come from 2:1 down to beat Trinec 3:2 at home. Pardubice are now three points clear of Zlin and five points ahead of Sparta, with whom they drew 2:2 in the most closely watched of Friday's matches.
Things go from bad to worse for legendary goaltender Hasek
Not long after his return to the NHL, legendary Czech goaltender Dominik Hasek is going through a nightmare spell at the moment. Once again Hasek faces the possibility of standing trial, after the Czech Republic's supreme state attorney ordered the reopening of a case in which the player allegedly assaulted an opponent in a game of in-line hockey. Things aren't going so great for Hasek on the ice, either: his average of 2.44 goals conceded a game is not too impressive and, to make matters worse, he is currently out of action with a groin injury.
