Agassi, Graf in Prague exhibition

A tennis exhibition may be the closest watched sporting event staged in the Czech Republic this year. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, perhaps the most celebrated sporting couple in the world, will appear in Prague in November to take part in an event held by Česká sportovní marketing agency.

Agassi and Graf are to play one-set matches with unnamed rivals and then a mixed doubles match. Project Manager Petra Píchalová-Langrová told The Prague Post that the stars could take on local couple Tomáš Berdych and Lucie Šafářová. Although Berdych and Šafářová are not married, they've been dating for years.

"The final decision will depend on their tournament schedule," Langrová-Píchalová said.

Agassi, 40, played in the Czech Republic 12 years ago, winning an ATP tour indoor event in Ostrava.

Graf, 41, who married Agassi in 2001, played at the Fed Cup in Prague in 1986, representing Germany.

This exhibition will be one in a long line of star-driven tennis events held in this country each year. Three years ago, Pete Sampras made his only appearance on Czech courts in an exhibition match against Radek Štěpánek. In 2009, Swedish legend Stefan Edberg made an appearance alongside Ivan Lendl, arguably the greatest Czech tennis player of all time. Lendl also took to the court in his native land in a match against Björn Borg last November.

Call of duty

The debt-ridden soccer club Slavia Praha called back to duty 40-year-old goalie Martin Vaniak, who had ended his career in November. Head coach Michal Petrouš said the veteran goalie should add more experience to the team that has been weakened by a number of financially related departures of key players over the winter break.

Vaniak, who was this past fall the oldest player in the Gambrinus liga, was getting ready to begin a new career coaching young goalies this spring. He said he was shocked when Petrouš called him after Christmas, despite his contract with Slavia remaining valid.

"I hadn't been practicing for more than a month, but I have a valid contract with the organization, so I had to respect the call," Vaniak said.

The veteran goalie has received little playing time in recent years, and during the fall leg of this season, Vaniak decided to retire.

"I could have continued until the end of the fall season in December," Vaniak said at the time. "But I did not want to play my last game in severe weather conditions in front of empty stands, so I ended in November."

Slavia planned to capitalize on Vaniak's experience by hiring him as a coach, and even sent him to a coaching seminar at Atlético Madrid in Spain. Slavia's deteriorating financial situation brought about the departures of some key players, however, including one goalie. Unable to afford new replacements, the team called Vaniak.

"The coach called me and said he reviewed some of the games I played last fall. He said he would need me again in the spring," Vaniak said.

In previous seasons, Vaniak was repeatedly displaced as the starting goalie for Slavia, though he repeatedly reclaimed the No.1 spot. He said he was ready to follow this routine once again, but emphasized this is the end.

"I've experienced almost everything with Slavia. They threw me out the door, and I got back through the window. Then they threw me out the window, but I got back through the chimney," Vaniak said. "Now, I'm going back through the cellar, and it is the very last entrance to the house indeed."

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com