Czech Davis Cup Team Get A Replacement For Ailing Captain

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 13th November 2013

Czech Davis Cup Team Get A Replacement For Ailing Captain

epa03867390 Czech team captain Jaroslav Navratil (C) and players Tomas Berdych (R) and Radek Stepanek (L) of Czech Republic celebrate after winning against Carlos Berlocq and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina during the Davis Cup World Group semi-final match between the Czech Republic and Argentina in Prague, Czech Republic, 14 September 2013. EPA/FILIP SINGER |

With three days remaining before the Czech Davis Cup begin their title defence against Serbia in this week’s final, Vladimir Safarik has taken over as emergency captain after Jaroslav Navratil was hospitalized with a blood clot in the lung.

Safarik is no rookie. The 49 year-old one-time former coach, is the managing director of Ceska Sportovni sports agency that organizes the Czech team’s Davis Cup ties and was the nation’s Fed Cup team in 1992.

The temporary appointment was not unexpected after 56 year-old Navratil was hospitalized last week with a pulmonary embolism. From his hospital bed, Navratil, Czech captain since 2006, insisted Safarik was “the right person” to take over.

“Vladimir has been with the team for more than 15 years, he has experience, speaks great English… and the boys respect him,” Navratil said on the team`s Facebook page.

The Czechs will be playing in a third final in five years after defeating Argentina 3-2 in the semi-finals while 2010 champions Serbia saw off Canada by the same score in Belgrade.

Tomas Berdych, the Czech Republic’s leading player, failed to qualify for the semi-finals at last week’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London but said: “This is going to be another extremely tough match, and an extremely tough end to the season.”

Topics: 10sballs.com, Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Czech Republic, Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Jaroslav Navratil, Tennis, Tennis News, Vladamir Safarik