Maslák leads Czech charge

Pavel Maslák claimed the Czech Republic's only gold medal at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, when he stormed to victory in the 400m March 3, setting a new national record in the process.

The 22-year-old, who won the outdoor title last year, shot out of the starting blocks and found himself heading the pack at the race's halfway stage. As his competitors jostled for position behind him, Maslák stretched his advantage before crossing the line in a personal-best time of 45.66 seconds.

Britain's Nigel Levine took the silver while Russia's Pavel Trenikhin, having earlier been disqualified for an illegal move, was awarded the bronze after an appeal from his country's delegation.

Maslák, the 2012 European Athletics Rising Star, proved he would be the man to beat by posting wins at meetings in Ghent and Stockholm earlier this year and never looked like relinquishing his lead at any point.

"I thought victory would have to come with the Czech record, and that's how it was," Maslák was quoted as saying by Czech Radio. "I'd expected a tough battle with Trenikhin in the final straight, but he chose a looser approach, and that made it easier for me."

The news got even better for the young athlete as he anchored the men's 4x400m relay team to a third-place finish in the final later that day, mirroring the achievement of the country's women, who also picked up a bronze in the 4x400m relay.

For team members Zuzana Hejnová and Denisa Rosolová, that result helped ease the disappointment of missing out on the podium in the individual event. Hejnová was pipped to third by eight one-hundredths of a second, while Rosolová was one place behind in fifth.

Completing the Czech Republic's five-medal haul at the championships, Jaroslav Bába and Ladislav Prášil came home with a bronze each after their efforts in the high jump and shot put, respectively.

Tennis: Berdych again the bridesmaid

Tomáš Berdych lost his second final in the space of six days as he fell to a straight sets defeat by Novak Djoković at the Dubai Championships March 2. That victory extended the Serb's unbeaten streak to 18 matches and saw him notch up his fourth Dubai title in five years.

Despite being beaten by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of last week's Marseille Open, Berdych came into the match high on confidence. Indeed, he enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges, unleashing his powerful forehand to break the world No. 1's serve and edge into a 4-2 first-set lead.

However, Djoković holds a 12-1 head-to-head record over the Czech for a reason, and he used his experience to capitalize on the unforced errors that started to creep into his opponent's game. He leveled the set when Berdych missed an easy volley at 4-3 and then saved three break points to go 5-4 up.

From there on in it was always going to be hard work for Berdych, who double-faulted to hand Djoković the set 7-5 before eventually succumbing 6-3 in the second. Having upset 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the semi-final, the clash with Djoković proved to be a match too far.

"I had a break [in the first set], but playing against the best returning guy on the tour, it's an advantage but not something really huge," Berdych said afterward. "It was quite a good game, but it was not enough today."

"With these guys, [Djoković and Federer], you can basically just go there, try your best, and if it doesn't happen, alright. They are the first and second players in the world and possibly the best two for many, many years. That's how it is."

Meanwhile, world No. 127 Karolína Plíšková bagged the first title of her career by downing American wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the Malaysian Open March 3. Playing in her maiden singles final, the 20-year-old overcame a poor start and a 30-minute rain delay to triumph 1-6 7-5 6-4.

Jonathan Crane can be reached at
jcrane@praguepost.com