In Sports News this Monday: the Czech Republic beat France to reach the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup in front of a home crowd in Ostrava; Roman Šebrle comes third in the heptathlon at the European Indoor Athletics Championships, with his bronze one of three Czech medals in Turin; Karlovy Vary are the first club into the Extraliga playoffs semi-finals; and 19-year-old footballer Tomáš Necid makes a dream start in Russia with a cup-winning goal.
Czechs beat France to reach quarter-finals of Davis Cup
Tomáš Berdych (left) and Radek Štěpánek, photo: CTK
The Czech men’s tennis players caused something of an upset at the weekend by beating a highly rated French team in the first round of the Davis Cup in the north Moravian city of Ostrava. The key moment came in the doubles on Saturday when Radek Štěpánek and Tomáš Berdych defeated Richard Gasquet and Michael Llodra to go 2:1 up. Victory for Štěpánek over Gilles Simon in the first singles rubber on Sunday then gave the Czechs an unassailable 3:1 lead in a best-of-five tie that eventually finished 3:2. Radek Štěpánek had this to say afterwards.
“I feel fantastic. I’m full of emotion and I’m really happy. We weren’t the favourites in this tie: one of the strongest teams around came here, in great form, and still we managed to win. I’m really happy with how this tie went.”
The Czech Republic will again enjoy home advantage when they play Argentina in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup in June; they last got to the semis back in 1996.
No fourth gold for Šebrle as Czechs take three medals at European Indoor Championships
Roman Šebrle, photo: CTK
Roman Šebrle failed to make it four golds in a row at the European Indoor Athletics Championships, when he finished third in the heptathlon in Turin on Sunday. His bronze wasn’t the only Czech medal: Lucie Škrobáková caused a bit of a sensation with silver in the women’s 60 m hurdles, while Petr Svoboda took the bronze in the men’s 60 m hurdles. The Czech team’s chief coach Václav Fišer said he was pleased with the three medals, but felt his charges could have reached more finals in Turin. It was the first time in 13 years the Czech Republic didn’t take at least one gold at the European Indoor Championships.
Karlovy Vary first club into Extraliga playoffs semi-finals
Photo: CTK
Karlovy Vary are the first club into the playoffs semi-finals in the ice hockey Extraliga, after overcoming Litvínov in the minimum four games. Elsewhere Sparta lead Zlín 3:1, Slavia and Vítkovice are tied 1:1 and Plzeň are 2:1 up on Pardubice, with the latter two pairings set to face each other again on Monday evening, after the recording of this show.
Necid makes dream start to career in Russian football
Tomáš Necid, photo: CTK
What a start to his career in Russia for the 19-year-old Czech footballer Tomáš Necid; the former Slavia striker came off the bench to score the winning goal for CSKA Moscow in a dramatic 2:1 victory over Rubin Kazan in the final of Russia’s Super Cup. After the game, CSKA’s Brazilian coach Zico said Necid was the future of the team.
