Czech tennis couple stick with Hopman Cup
Thursday 20 September
2007
PERTH, Australia
(AFP) — Highly-rated pair Tomas
Berdych and Lucie Safarova will again represent the
Czech Republic at the Hopman Cup at year's end.
It will be their
second successive appearance at the mixed teams tournament, which starts on
December 29 and is considered an important warm-up for the first Grand Slam of
2008, the Australian Open.
The Czech pair
join ace Serbian pairing Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic, both ranked third
in the world, as the first confirmations for the 20th edition of the
tournament.
Berdych and
Safarova, who are a team on and off
the court, made their Hopman Cup debut earlier this year, finishing third in
Group B.
The pair beat
eventual finalist Spain and were in contention for the final until a leg strain
forced Safarova to withdraw from the mixed doubles of their final group tie
against Croatia.
Safarova, 20,
recovered from the injury to post a career-best win over France's world No.1
Amelie Mauresmo at the subsequent Australian Open and is ranked 22nd in the
world.
The 22-year-old
Berdych is ranked 10 in the world,
and was a quarter finalist at this year's Wimbledon, bowing out to Rafael
Nadal.
Hopman Cup
tournament director Paul McNamee was delighted to secure another top 10 player
in Berdych.
"On the back of
Djokovic and Jankovic, it gives us our third top-10 player already to commit for
this year," he said.
"It is a good
sign for the tournament that we have got these top-10 players who are keen to
come back.
"He
(Berdych) is one of the only players
to have defeated both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -- Nadal last year in
Madrid and Federer at the Olympics, so we know he has talent to burn.
"It is only a
matter of time before he puts a run together on the big stage."
McNamee said five
wins over the top-10 players this year showed Safarova was also on the
up.
The teams in seeded order
are:
-
Serbia - Novak Djokovic (3) and Jelena
Jankovic (3)
-
USA – Mardy Fish (43) and Serena Williams
(6)
-
Czech Republic –
Tomas Berdych (13) and Lucie Safarova (24)
France – Arnaud Clément (54) and Tatiana
Golovin (15)
-
Argentina – Juan Ignacio Chela (17) and
Gisela Dulko (37)
-
Australia – Peter Luczak (77) an d Alicia
Molik (67)
-
India – Rohan Bopanna (262) and Sania Mirza
(32)
-
Asian Hopman Cup Winner from (Thailand,
Japan, Taipei, Korea, Uzbekistan & China)
Tomas and Lucie
Dec. 31, 2007
This
year's organizers chose a nautical theme, with 750 guests boarding the "Hopman
Princess" for the gala. This event's
beneficiaries were the Variety Club and the Kids Tennis
Foundation.
Schedule of Play
Session 1:
Saturday, December 29 10.30am, USA (No. 2 seeds) v India (7)
Session 2:
Saturday, December 29, 6pm, Australia (6) v Czech Republic (3)
Session 3:
Sunday, December 30, 10.30am, Serbia (1) v Asian Hopman Cup winner
(8)
Session 4: Sunday, December 30, 6pm, France (4) v Argentina (5)
Session 5: Monday, December 31, 10.30am, USA v Czech Republic
Session 6:
Tuesday, January 1, 10.30am, Australia v India
Session 7: Wednesday, January
2, 10.30am, Serbia v France
Session 8: Wednesday, January 2, 6pm, Argentina
v Asian Hopman Cup winner
Session 9*: Thursday, January 3, 10.30am,
Australia v USA, Czech Republic v India
Session 10*: Thursday, January 3,
6pm, Serbia v Argentina, France v Asian Hopman Cup winner
Final: Friday,
January 4, 6pm, Winner Group A v winner Group B
* denotes
double-header using two courts
Czech to test Molik early
1st November
2007
Australia face
a daunting first-up assignment against No. 3 seeds the Czech Republic on the
opening night of the Hyundai Hopman Cup.
Alicia Molik,
still looking to regain the form that carried her to a world ranking of No. 8
early in 2005, plays her last match of 2007 against emerging Czech star Lucie
Safarova on December 29.
South Australian
Molik, the world No. 58, is ranked well below Safarova's 23.
Media Conference
27/12/2007
Transcript - Lucie Safarova, Tomas Berdych
(Czech Republic)
Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)
Tomas
Berdych (Czech Republic)
Peter Vlahos
(Interviewer)
Tony Carr
(Interviewer)
(Vlahos) Welcome to
Perth , looking forward to another Hopman Cup
playing together?
(Berdych) Yeah of course, yeah. Pretty happy
that we can be here together and spend one beautiful week.
(Vlahos) Do you enjoy the actual
event because you have an opportunity to play with Lucie as well?
(Berdych) Yeah of course, I mean I think for
us, maybe just one of the opportunities to play together in the mixed, because,
especially on the Gland Slams there are not many times and its better to be
ready for singles, so, it's good for us.
(Vlahos) Lucie, the heat. We talked
about the fact that you've come from a cold climate to a hot one.
(Safarova) It's minus five in Czech Republic
so it was pretty tough to come here, to get used to it.
(Vlahos) And for the whole
tournament it sounds like its going to be mid thirties.
(Safarova) Yeah, but it's indoors, and there
will be air conditioning so it will be not too bad.
(Vlahos) Lucie, do you see this as a
good preparation for the Grand Slam, the Australian Open, in a couple of
weeks.
(Safarova) I think so, we did it already
last year and it was great so I hope to have some good matches here and play
very well in Melbourne.
(Carr) What sort of break have you
both had since the recent season?
(Safarova) My last tournament was Stuttgart
because I was injured there, I had three months break without
playing.
(Vlahos) Tomas, it's a good field
here at the Hopman Cup this year, some quality male players. You must be looking
forward to playing some good matches during the week.
(Berdych) Of course, and so far last year it
was fine and there was a couple of really good matches last year and this year I
think its going to be even better especially with some guys from the other
group, Djokovic is here and Chela, so it's going to be great.
(Carr) Is it a good preparation for
a Grand Slam tournament for you, personally?
(Berdych) Of course, I mean for us to come
from Europe, its not so big difference because we were practising months indoors
so now it's going to be slower.
(Vlahos) The old
Czechoslovakia won the very first Hopman Cup,
would you like to win it this time around, 20 years on?
(Safarova) That would be great.
(Vlahos) Do you remember who won it
for the Czechoslovakia 20 years ago?
(Safarova) No. (Laughs).
(Carr) Do you Pete?
(Vlahos) Helena and Miloslav I think
won it.
(Berdych) Yeah, Miloslav Mecir.
(Vlahos) Thank
you very much, good luck.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
6:00pm
Czech Republic (3) v Australia
(6)
Lucie Safarova
v Alicia Molik
Tomas Berdych v
Peter Luczak
Mixed
Doubles
Big Opening Night Battle
Looms
29/12/2007
By Chris
Pike
THE
first night session of Hyundai Hopman Cup XX pits Australia against the Czech
Republic, with the Aussies out to topple the Cup returnees.
The
Czech Republic duo of Tomas Berdych
and Lucie
Safarova return for the second straight year as two of
the brightest young stars in the game.
Berdych
has maintained a spot just outside the top 10 in the world (14) and in a
year where she had some huge wins, Safarova is ranked 23 and on the verge of shooting
right up.
They take on a new-look Australian team.
Alicia Molik is no new face appearing for the sixth time, but Peter Luczak is
making his Cup debut.
Berdych returns with Safarova with the couple enjoying the chance to
spend some rare time on tour together.
Berdych
is looking forward to taking on Luczak for the first time, as well as
Mardy Fish and Rohan Bopanna, while watching intently on what happens in Group
A.
"I'm happy that we can come here and spend
one beautiful week. It is one of the only opportunities for us to play together
as in the Grand Slams it is better to focus on the singles," Berdych said.
"Last year I had a couple of enjoyable
matches. This year will be even better with guys like (Novak) Djokovic and (Juan
Ignacio) Chela here it's going to be great.
"For us to come from Europe, it's not much
of a difference as we have been practicing for months indoors, but outside the
weather is a big change after being minus five in the Czech
Republic."
The
session kicks off at 6pm.
AUSTRALIA - CZECH REPUBLIC
2-1
The United States won the tie 2-1, with
Meghann Shaughnessy and Mardy Fish winning their respective singles matches,
before Mirza and Rohan Bopanna claimed the mixed doubles rubber.
Saturday's other session saw Australia
record the first significant upset of the tournament, with the hosts downing the
third-seeded Czech Republic 2-1 in their Group B clash.
Ranked in the top 10 before illness
interrupted her career, local favourite Alicia Molik paved the way for the upset
when she beat Lucie Safarova in straight sets 7-5 6-2, to take her record in
singles play here to an impressive 12 wins and four losses.
Molik was down 5-4 in the first set, but
then reeled off five straight games to seize control.
The highly-rated Tomas Berdych
then levelled the tie with a hard-fought 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 win over the
79th-ranked Peter Luczak in the men's singles.
Safarova and Berdych
may be partners off the court, but they didn't win a mixed
doubles match at the last Hopman Cup and continued that unhappy trend, losing to
Molik and Luczak, who had never played together before, 7-5 6-3 in the deciding
rubber.
Media Conference
29/12/2007
Transcript -
Lucie Safarova, Tomas Berdych
LUCIE SAFAROVA (Czech
Republic)
TOMAS BERDYCH (Czech Republic)
Three cracking
matches tonight. Please put your hand together for Lucie Safarova.
(Safarova) Alicia, she
played very well today. She was serving very well. I hope I will do better for
my next match.
Well we know
you and Tomas are partners on and off the court, was Tomas giving you the right
sort of advice out there?
(Safarova) Yeah he's
great.
He was great.
Tomas, you had tough encounter earlier on, didn't you?
(Berdych) Yeah of course, my
singles, like I said after the match, wasn't that easy. I think at this time
winning a match isn't that easy. But I'm very happy to win my first match after
quite a long time. Since the last tournament at the end of the season. I have to
say, Lucie said that was great but not enough because I didn't help her enough
to win today. But what can we do?
Well there
wasn't much in it; do you think you've made a step forward in your mixed doubles
on last years effort?
(Berdych) Yeah I think the
male partner needs to do more in the mixed doubles, but that's not my style,
especially when we play normal tennis. I have to improve.
Overall, you
were beaten tonight but you've got plenty to work on. You're still alive in the
tournament and you've got a couple of matches coming up. How is the foot, what
was happening there?
(Berdych) There is some
problem. Maybe it's with the shoe or something. I don't know. It started after
the singles so we just tried to tape the toe and I hope it's going to be ready
for the next matches.
How can it be
the shoes, they look like they are from Star Wars territory? I'm sure a few of
the young people will be buying them.
(Berdych) no I think it's
maybe my legs, that they are not fit for the shoe. I cannot say the shoes are
bad. I think it's my legs.
I'm sure
you'll fix it for next time. Congratulations on a great night's entertainment,
Lucie Safarova and Tomas Berdych.
Monday, December 31, 2007 10:30
am
USA (2) v Czech Republic (3)
Serena Williams v Lucie Safarova
Mardy Fish v Tomas
Berdych
Mixed Doubles
Williams Arrives For Hyundai Hopman
Cup
30/12/2007
By
Alan East
The
arrival of Grand Slam queen Serena Williams at Perth's Hyundai Hopman Cup will
enable the USA to go into their clash with the Czech Republic with added
confidence on Monday morning.
The
last match of 2007 will see the world No. 7 take on rising star Lucie Safarova,
who has halved her ranking to 23 in the year since she made her Hyundai Hopman
Cup debut.
The
USA is seeded No. 2 for this year's event, behind hot favourites Serbia and goes
into the match with one victory to their credit, helped by substitute American
Meghann Shaughnessy, who paired with Mardy Fish to beat India on
Saturday.
Williams, a winner of the Hyundai Hopman Cup
with James Blake five years ago, arrived in Perth overnight and had a hit on the
practice court on Sunday afternoon after the long flight from
Florida.
She
has assured Tournament Director Paul McNamee that she had shrugged off a brief
illness and her combination with Fish – who played extremely well in his 6-2,
6-4 win over India's Rohan Bopanna in the opening match.
The
third seeded Czechs were upset by Australia on Saturday night, when Alicia Molik
and debutant Peter Luczak combined brilliantly in the doubles to down Safarova
and her boyfriend, the 14th ranked Tomas
Berdych.
The
Czechs conceded that they need to do a little work on their doubles, having not
won a rubber at last summer's Hyundai Hopman Cup, with Berdych admitting it wasn't his strong
point.
"I
didn't help Lucie enough to win today," he said. "I think the male partner needs
to do more in the mixed, but that's not my style, especially when we play normal
tennis. I have to improve."
Berdych, a winner of three singles titles on the men's Tour, has
secured his place in the upper echelons of world rankings, but has his sights
set on a top-10 spot in the coming 2008 year.
His
American opponent, Fish, has spent another year recovering from injury, this
time damaging ankle ligaments in a friendly burst of grid iron.
However, he finished the year ranked at 39
and a strong showing against Berdych
will boost his confidence for the year ahead.
The
session begins at 10:30am on Monday.
Berdych sick, in doubt for US
tie
December 31, 2007
Tomas Berdych is
in doubt for Czech Republic's Hopman Cup tie against the United States, due to a
stomach virus.
Tournament director Paul McNamee said the
world No.14 had been vomiting, and organisers would push his singles
rubber against Mardy Fish back to last on the program to give the player as much
time as possible to recover.
US
superstar Serena Williams will play Lucie Safarova in the women's singles
rubber, with he mixed doubles to be played second before the men's
singles.
Berdych
was a "90 per cent chance" to play the mixed doubles, McNamee
said.
If
Berdych is unable to play either of
his matches, Czech Republic will forfeit those points to the US team.
Fish and Meghann Shaugnessy, who stepped in
for an illness-delayed Williams, beat India in the first tie of the tournament,
2-1.
Czech Republic lost to Australia on Saturday
night, 2-1.
AAP
Tomas and girlfriend
Lucie Safarova SEE
PHOTO
Tomas
Berdych and Lucia Safarova
from Czech Republic talk after sickness
forced Berdych's retirement from their mixed doubles
match against
Mardy Fish and Serena Williams from the U.S
during session five
of the Hopman Cup tennis tournament in Perth
December 31, 2007.
REUTERS/Stringer
Czechs Thwarted by Illness
31 December 2007
The USA
notched a second successive victory in the $1-million Hyundai Hopman Cup tennis
championship when illness thwarted the Czech Republic challenge at Perth's
Burswood Dome today.
Grand Slam
champion Serena Williams overcame a mid-match fightback from Lucie Safarova to
win 6-0, 2-6, 7-5, but a stomach ailment suffered by Tomas Berdych forced a reshuffle of the schedule,
with the mixed doubles next.
The Czechs
opted to see how Berdych
handled a mixed before deciding whether he needed to play his
men's singles against Mardy Fish. But after the USA won the opening set 6-0,
Berdych
retired and the second seeded Americans claimed a 3-0 victory,
with the men's singles also not played.
Tomas Berdych - Australian
consultant Fred Stolle
"I am sorry to
have to withdraw from this match," Berdych
told the spectators before leaving the court. "I just didn't feel as
though I could continue, but I hope to be better to play again on
Thursday."
The win sets
the Americans up for a ninth Final in the ITF mixed teams championship, chasing
their fifth victory in 19 years.
The
Williams-Safarova match saw the current Australian Open champion in blistering
form, taking just 20 minutes to win the first set without allowing the Czech
player a game. But Safarova fought back brilliantly, matching the Williams power
and taking the second set.
The third set
went game for game, with Williams finally breaking in the 11th game and she then
served out the match.
Tomas Berdych
and Lucie Safarova call a
halt to their mixed doubles match
against
Serena Williams and Mardy Fish of the US due to illness to Berdych
on the fifth
session of the Hopman Cup in Perth, 31 December 2007.
AFP
PHOTO/Tony ASHBY
Thursday, January 3, 2008 10:30
am
USA (2) v Australia
(6)
Serena Williams v Alicia Molik
Mardy Fish v Peter
Luczak
Mixed Doubles
Czech Republic (3) v India (7)
Lucie Safarova
v Sania Mirza
Tomas Berdych v Rohan Bopanna
Mixed Doubles
RESULTS: Czech Republic 2 def. India
1
- Lucie
Safarova d Sania Mirza 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Time: 110 minutes,
Umpire: Kerrilyn Cramer
- Tomas Berdych
d Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 6-0
Time: 58 minutes, Umpire: John
Blom
- Safarova/Berdych lost to Mirza/Bopanna 3-6,
2-6
Time: 63 minutes, Umpire: Kerrilyn Cramer
Full match
stats
With the
United States securing a place in the final, India's tie with the Czech Republic
no longer had any bearing, but Czech pair Lucie Safarova and Tomas Berdych made up for a disappointing
start to the Hyundai Hopman Cup.
Safarova won a
tough battle with India's Sania Mirza 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, before Berdych followed up convincingly beating Rohan
Bopanna 6-4, 6-0 to secure the Czech victory.
Safarova
struggled with a slight illness and leg injury in her opening two losses to
Australia's Alicia Molik and Serena Williams, while Berdych began with a win over Peter
Luczak.
He was forced
to withdraw from his match with American Mardy Fish due to a stomach
virus.
With losses in
both doubles, it left the Czech Republic with two losses from two ties, but both
Safarova and Berdych
recorded strong singles victories in their final tie in
Perth.
Safarova got
off to a flying start against Mirza, winning the opening set 6-3. The battle
between the world's No. 23 and 31 then heated up when Mirza levelled the match
by taking the second set 6-4.
Safarova
proved too strong in the third to record her first singles win of the week,
clinching the match 6-3 in the decider.
Recovered from
the bug that kept him from playing on Monday, Berdych overcame a slow start against
Bopanna to win in straight sets.
Bopanna held a
2-0 lead to start the match, but Berdych
responded winning the next five matches to eventually take the set 6-4.
He then dominated the second, taking it 6-0.
The Indians
made sure they left Perth remaining undefeated in the doubles, beating Safarova
and Berdych 6-3, 6-2.
India finished second in Group B and the Czech Republic
fourth.
Berdych celebrates his victory over
Bopanna SEE
PHOTO
Résumé:
The tennis team of Tomáš Berdych
and Lucie Šafárová failed to
repeat their appearance last year in the final of the Hopman Cup in Perth. The
Czechs lost to Australia and the United States while beating India in the group
phase of the tournament. The team had to retire from their match against the
Americans Dec. 31 due to Berdych's
sickness.
