NO CLOTHES, NO PROBLEM FOR JIRI VESELY

Written by: Staff on 9th April 2015

NO CLOTHES, NO PROBLEM FOR JIRI VESELY

epa04368240 Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic hits a return to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland during the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, Meadows, New York, USA, 25 August 2014. The US Open runs through Monday 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JUSTIN LANE |

Jiri Vesely could only laugh. On arriving at a baggage carousel at the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca, he soon realised that one of his bags had gone missing.

It’s a hazard that every international traveller fears.

Vesely had taken a flight from Vienna to Rome on 4 April, before he boarded a plane to Casablanca.

Upon arrival, he was soon riffling through his travel bag that included his tennis racquets, to find what clothes he had.

“One pair of shorts and old tennis shoes,” Vesely told ATPWorldTour.com.”I laughed.”

His coach, Ladislav Simon, was also panicking. His bag was also missing. After some frantic enquiries they left for the hotel and the Complexe Al Amal, the venue of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament.

While Simon was reunited with his bag the next day, there was still no sign of Vesely’s missing luggage.

The days continued to pass. At night, Vesely “continues to wear the jeans I travelled to Morocco in”.

With his first match fast approaching, Vesely was forced to borrow a tee-shirt and socks from his doubles partner Frantisek Cermak. The pair lost to third seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Robin Haase 10-3 in a Match tie-break on Wednesday.

With a mounting laundry bill, Vesely had to do something he has not done for seven years: buy his own tennis clothes.

“This morning I bought four tee-shirts,” said Vesely, who broke a seven-match losing streak Thursday with victory over Mikhail Youzhny. It was his first match win since capturing the Auckland title in mid January. “I have been with Lotto since the age of 15, so I haven’t had to buy any tennis clothes for seven years.”

Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic of Czech Republic in action against Bernard Tomic of Australia during Davis Cup World Group match first round tennis match between Australia and the Czech Republic in Ostrava, Czech Republic, 06 March 2015. EPA/MARTIN SIDORJAK

With hopes dwindling of finding his missing bag, Vesely sought the help of ATP staff and tournament organisers today to find a Lotto store in Casablanca.

Prior to dashing off, and following a post-match massage, Vesely added, “Maybe I’ll see someone wearing my clothes!”

A new set of Lotto gear will be waiting for him, when he arrives at next week’s Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2015/04/14/Casablanca-Vesely-Missing-Bag.aspx?utm_source=ATPMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ATP%20World%20Tour%20Insider%20#14%20-%20April%209%202015%20%281%29 )

Topics: Atp, Jiri Vesely, Tennis