Czechs move on to Davis Cup semis

Tennis player Ivo Minář came, saw and conquered.

The 25-year-old Minář made an unexpected comeback to the Czech Davis Cup team before the July 9-11 quarterfinal matchup in Chile. He became a last-minute replacement for team leader Tomáš Berdych, who withdrew from the squad after advancing to the Wimbledon final. Since Radek Štěpánek, the country's No. 2 player, was also missing due to injury, Minář was called into duty.

He surpassed expectations. Minář was the Czech team's driving force in its 4-1 win over Chile. He put the team on the winning path in the first singles match when he upset Chilean team leader Nicolas Massu in straight sets. Minář allowed the 2004 Olympic champion to win only five games in the match. Jan Hájek added another win against Paul Capdeville, and the Czechs also triumphed in doubles. Minář then won his second singles match.

"Truly, I had not expected the match to be so easy," Minář said after beating Massu.

"His win against Massu was crucial for the overall victory," said Czech nonplaying captain Jaroslav Navrátil.

The Czechs advanced to the cup's late rounds for the second consecutive time. Last year, they were beaten by Spain in the final.

Originally, Minář had not been scheduled to appear on the Davis Cup team this year. His season started in March after an eight-month doping ban expired. Minář was suspended for testing positive for the banned substance methylhexanamine after last year's Davis Cup match against Argentina.

Minář argued at the time that the substance was ingested through a nutritional supplement. He presented evidence that he had taken the product on professional advice and denied he knowingly took it in an effort to cheat. The International Tennis Federation disagreed.

During his forced holiday, Minář underwent groin surgery and also began playing with the same Babolat rackets as U.S. star Andy Roddick.

"It's true that I struggled with the new rackets for a while, but I now feel that I'm hitting the ball faster with them," Minář said.

The doping ban led to a deep drop for Minář in the ATP rankings. He was ranked 73rd before the ban, but started this season from the 151st spot. Since returning to the professional circuit, Minář won a challenger tournament in Cairo. Still, his low rating forced him to play small tournaments, pushing his ranking down to 247th.

Despite the lower rankings, Navrátil called Minář after Berdych's withdrawal.

"He already had experience with the Davis Cup," Navrátil said.

Before Chile, Minář had played two singles matches in the Davis Cup. He lost both, though they were against elite players, Andy Roddick and Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.

Minář said he was planning to play some German league matches when Navrátil called him with a request that he travel to Chile.

"It was quite fast and unexpected," Minář said. "But I did not hesitate for a second."

Should Berdych and Štěpánek return to the team for the semifinal matchup in Serbia in mid-September, Minář will most likely lose his place on the team. Still, he insists the Chilean challenge could help him climb the ATP rankings.

"After my return, I lost some games just due to low match practice," Minář said. "The Davis Cup could help me get back on the winning track. ... I hope I'll be able to make it to the top 100 by the end of this year."

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com