Vondroušová and Kolář continue their beauty ride and are in the semi-finals! Czechs also doing well in smaller tournaments

The journey back to the top continues. Markéta Vondroušová has been showing good form again in recent days, as she has already advanced to the semi-finals in Linz after injuring her opponent on Friday and will fight for her first final since the Olympic Games. Zdeněk Kolář is also showing similar quality, breaking into the top four for the second time in a row at the Challenger.

She has been out of action for six long months. Markéta Vondroušová (89th) had to undergo wrist surgery last autumn, but she has been making a comeback on the WTA circuit in recent months, aiming to end a five-year wait for a title.

Vondrousova’s Linz ride

The 23-year-old tennis player from Sokolov has started the season relatively successfully. Upon her return, she scored two match wins in both Adelaide and the Australian Open. By the third time, Vondrousova was looking to get through the gates of the third match at the Linz tournament.

In the opening two rounds, she got through Tomova (101st) and Masar (99th) without any problems, allowing her opponents just eight games in total. In the semi-final, Dalma Galfi (92nd) faced her. Immediately at 2: 1, the Hungarian tennis player chose the treatment option and it was quite obvious that she was severely limited by problems with her right leg.

After confirming the break gained by the Czech player, Dalfiová gave up the short fight, sending Markéta Vondroušová into the fight for the final. The world’s eighty-ninth-ranked player will have to wait for her semi-final opponent to emerge from the Potapova (45th) – Friedsam (124th) clash.

Zdeněk Kolář’s form continues

Zdenek Kolar (214th) is also having another successful week. The twenty-six-year-old came close to jumping into the elite 100 last year, but his form dropped significantly in the second half of the season and he started the year in the third 100.

Last week he registered his first semi-final appearance in ten months. Although he did not make the final in Germany, he still moved up forty places in the rankings. In Lithuania, Kolář has so far managed to build on his previous success.

After the scalps of qualifier Masur (272nd) and the third seed Rodionov (122nd), the Moravian player advanced to the quarter-finals, where the Frenchman Escoffier (202nd) was waiting for him.

The native of Bystřice nad Perštejnem once again started the match brilliantly. When he led 6::3 and 4::3 with a break, it seemed to be decided. In the end, however, Kolář lost three games in a row and the match went to a deciding set.

In the final set, Escoffier was very close to winning, leading 4:2. However, as if inspired by his opponent’s performance, Kolar turned the match around and after a great finish, he enjoyed a 6:3, 4:6, 6:4 victory. In the semi-final match Kolar will face the winner of the De Loore – Ilkel duel.

Successes at ITF tournaments

Other achievements of Czech tennis players at smaller ITF tournaments are also worth mentioning.

In the men’s section, Michael Vrbenský (375th) and Matěj Vocelj (882nd) are fighting on Portuguese soil. Vrbensky is currently in the semifinals after a nerve-wracking battle, and Vocel will try to emulate his doubles partner in Friday afternoon’s duel with the top-seeded Fanselow of Germany.

As for the Czech ladies, former top 100 player Tereza Smitkova (443rd) is among the top four in Britain. In the quarter-finals, the journey at the same tournament ended for the talented Dominika Šalková (295th). when she fell short to Slovakia’s Šrámková (317th).

Source: ITF, Livesport