Wozniacki to play in Prostějov

The world's No. 1 female tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki, will close her career-best season on the courts of the Czech Republic. The 20-year-old Dane is the main box-office draw at the Extraliga finals now under way in Prostějov.

The team tennis event kicked off Dec. 12 with the finals set for Dec. 18. The early days were largely filled with qualifying matches. Wozniacki agreed to join the TK Prostějov team if it qualifies for the finals, slated for Dec. 18. TK Prostějov is a strong favorite to win the competition given its already star-studded lineup that includes world No. 6 Tomáš Berdych, and it looks almost certain that Wozniacki will appear in the final match.

"She's set to practice in Prostějov for the next season and will be ready to boost our team in the finals," said TK Prostějov's manager, Jaroslav Navrátil.

He added that Wozniacki, who ended the season with six tournament singles titles, the most on the tour, will not receive any additional appearance money.

TK Prostějov has long been in touch with Wozniacki, who in October displaced Serena Williams as the world's top-ranked player after almost two years. The Danish player seemed set to join Prostějov's team last year, but the Czech team's advancement to the Davis Cup finals led organizers to cancel the Extraliga event.

Appearances by elite tennis players in the Czech Extraliga are not unprecedented. In the past, former world No. 1 female Martina Hingis also played.

This year, however, the Extraliga features perhaps the strongest lineup in history. Apart from Wozniacki and Berdych, there will be three other players who this season qualified for the Masters finals for the best-ranked players. Among them are Czech Lukáš Dlouhý, Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Austria's Oliver Marach, who all played in the Masters finals in men's doubles.

"This makes the Extraliga perhaps the most attractive national team championships in Europe," said Petr Huťka, president of the Association of Professional Tennis Clubs.

Yearning to play

Czech national soccer team captain Tomáš Rosický has been struggling in England's Premier League for league-leader Arsenal and could transfer to another club. The 30-year-old midfielder may move to Aston Villa in the near future, the London-based Daily Mail wrote in early December.

Since arriving in London from Germany's Borussia Dortmund four years ago, Rosický has struggled with injuries and has only played the full 90 minutes in 23 matches. This fall, despite being fit, Rosický has appeared in Arsenal's starting lineup in only five out of 16 games, and he has failed to score a single goal.

"I'd clearly like to play more," Rosický said.

In contrast to his past struggles with injuries, Rosický insists he is now fully fit. However, while he does make regular appearances in the Premiership, he does not spend too much time on the pitch in big games, be it in the Premiership or in the Champions' League.

"I'd like to get more opportunities mainly in the big games such as against Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester City. I did play in them, but only as a substitute," Rosický said.

The midfielder insisted he does not play bad soccer. However, he admitted his productivity has been weak.

"I don't score," he said. "It's true that players who play on my spot score goals, while I haven't done so in the past four months."

Despite receiving fewer opportunities on the pitch, Rosický and his agents say transferring to Aston Villa is not on the agenda.

"I want to play more for Arsenal, not leave the team," Rosický said.

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com