Sports News

In Sports News this week: Petra Kvitová wins WTA title in Stuttgart; Czech international football player Josef Šural dies in traffic accident; Czech football league’s regular season wraps up; Třinec clinches Czech ice hockey Extraliga.

Petra Kvitová clinches WTA title in Stuttgart

Petra Kvitová, photo: Filip Jandourek / Czech Radio

World-number-three Petra Kvitová won her second WTA title of 2019 as she beat Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 7-6 in the final of the tournament in Stuttgart on Sunday. Having won the Sydney International in January, Kvitová is the first woman to win two titles in 2019. This is what she had to say after the match:

“I was so glad to reach the finals already. I have made it to the semi-finals before, but not to the final. Of course winning this trophy and the beautiful car is a big bonus.

“I am also glad that I broke my losing streak in the finals as well. So it has been a great tournament, really.”

After clinching the Stuttgart title, the 28-year-old Czech has moved back to the second spot of the WTA rankings.

Czech international football player Josef Šural dies in traffic accident

Josef Šural, photo: ČTK/Kateřina Šulová

Czech international football player Josef Šural has died following a minibus crash in Turkey. The 28-year-old was returning from a game with his club Alanyaspor on Sunday when the accident occurred, just five kilometres away from Alanya. He was taken to hospital along with six teammates and later died of his injuries.

According to the club’s chairman, the driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel of the minibus, while the second driver was asleep at the time.

The forward, who was 28, made 20 appearances for the Czech national team and played for Brno, Liberec and Sparta Prague.

Czech football league’s regular season wraps up

The regular season of the Czech football league has ended, with Slavia Prague finishing first, four points ahead of the pack. Viktoria Plzeň, the current title holders, finished second. The top six clubs are set to face one another in a new mini-league system, due to get underway on Friday. The favourites, Slavia and Plzeň, will face each other on May 12 at Prague’s Eden Stadium.

Třinec clinches Czech ice hockey Extraliga

Photo: ČTK/Petr Sznapka

In hockey, Třinec have won the Czech ice hockey Extraliga after beating Liberec 4:2 on Sunday evening to achieve the same result on games in the best-of-seven final series of the competition’s playoffs.

Vladimír Roth scored the winning goal in the 56th minute of the game, while Ethan Werek confirmed the result with another goal in the power play.

It is the second time Třinec have lifted the title in their history and comes eight years after their first triumph. Liberec were losing finalists for the second year in a row.