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After eighteen years, Jaroslav Navrátil quit as captain of the Czech Davicup team. The national team will be led by former star tennis player and two-time winner of this team competition Tomáš Berdych. The management of the Czech Tennis Association announced its decision in a press release, thus confirming Friday’s information List of Messages.
The 67-year-old Navrátil, after many years of successful work for Czech tennis, would certainly imagine a different departure than after the burning criticism of his decision and the fiasco of the team in this year’s edition, in which the Czechs finished in the group stage at the weekend, when due to health problems they were not enough to face Spain, Australia or France and took the last fourth place in Group B in Valencia. “The decision was made on the basis of our agreement with Jaroslav Navrátil, in accordance with the prepared concept of the development of Czech tennis until 2028, in response to the generational change of the team, but also to the current events in Valencia,” said the president of the association Jakub Kotrba.
He returned under fire
Navrátil became the target of criticism from former players Jan Hájek and Lukáš Rosol for nominating only four out of five possible players, and as a possible reason they cited a more favorable distribution of the financial reward for the team. “This is crazy, I can’t watch it anymore. Mr. Navrátil has nothing more to give to the team, he missed the train tennis-wise. If we want to succeed with this generation, someone new should come,” Hájek told Seznam Zprávám.
Navrátil responded to the criticism by saying that he stands by his decisions. “I don’t take it from them. One has been playing in Germany for ten years and is not at all interested in Czech tennis, the other has finished his career and I can’t imagine him as a coach,” said Navrátil at the last press conference in Valencia.
The players Jiří Leheček and Adam Pavlásek also stood for him, saying that generals appear after the battle and last year, when the Czech team advanced to the quarter-finals, there were no complaints about the short nomination.
“In the Czech Republic, everyone is waiting for some stumble. This is a bad feature of our nation,” remarked Pavlásek.
“The team has a really big potential, I believe it. And that this year didn’t go well… I think that the boys will all improve by the end of the season, I’m convinced of that if they are healthy. And if I stick with it? I want to stay, but if I am not a good captain for the players, I will respect that. But whether I continue or not, let someone else decide. And that is the leadership of the tennis association,” Navrátil told reporters. “A person works for Czech tennis for 30 years, Davis Cup for 18 years. I coached five players into the top 100 in the world… Yes, I am responsible for the fact that this year was a failure. But about my work, if it is valid, if I am good, bad, young, old captain, let someone else decide that. I’m not going to follow the boys if I’m a good captain or not. That’s below my level. Every year is not just sunshine. Things happened this year that one cannot predict. Now I could have had five players, but I say that I stand behind the nomination,” he repeated.
Navrátil’s successes in the Davis Cup
Navrátil has been Davis Cup captain since 2006. In 2012 and 2013, he triumphed in the competition with the team. “Jaroslav deserves all the respect for everything he has done for the Czech Davis Cup, and we will certainly find an opportunity to thank him for it in front of a full hall together with the fans,” added Kotrba.
The 38-year-old Berdych ended his career five years ago. Together with Radek Štěpánek, he was one of the mainstays of the national team that won the Davis Cup in 2012 and 2013. He made it to the Wimbledon final and to fourth place in the world rankings. Since last season, he has been working as a member of the coaching team of one of the best Czech tennis players, Jiří Lehečka.
“I experienced unforgettable moments of my tennis career with the Davis Cup, so I did not hesitate for a moment to accept the offer. I will be happy if I succeed with the new young, strong generation of players that is growing in the Czech Republic, to do the same thing again that we did more than ten years ago,” said Berdych.
He will meet the players already during the upcoming tournaments in Asia. In the role of non-playing captain, he will make his first appearance in February 2025 in the qualifiers for advancement to the group stage of the Davis Cup. The opponent and venue will be determined by the International Tennis Federation.
