Battle of stringers and new rule about the current heatwave
Thursday was so far the longest day of the Prague Open 2020, and probably the hottest one yet. Because of the heatwave that hit Prague, WTA announced a new Heat Rule. That means that ball guys and umpires can take off their face masks on courts during a match so they can breathe properly. However, the rule is only applicable when humidity and temperature raise upon a given scale. It will certainly be a relief for them in these extreme conditions as some of the matches last more than 3 hours.
Those who are also busy are our fellow rackets stringers. Three experts take care of the players' rackets – 2 of them, Richard Šodek and Lukáš Frolík, directly work f TK Sparta Praha complex. On the other hand, Michal Nechanický is based in the building of the hotel Vienna House Diplomat. These gentlemen have not really stopped as they usually restring up to 57 rackets a day. In total, they have already subdued the target of 300 rackets and the tournament only just turned into its second half. "’We currently manage to restring a racket in approximately 15 to 20 minutes but when we have more time we usually take it slowly and we can at least chill for a little bit," says Richard Šodek with a laugh, the official stringer of the Czech Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. He also experienced another record when he had to get Barbora Strýcová’s racket done under 10 minutes right before her match.
Even the stringers are facing the heatwave. "It’s difficult to work in these conditions as your hands are sweating so the stringing is much harder,” added Lukas Frolik. The players normally take 3 to 4 rackets for a match so they are definitely not bored. Do you remember when we told you who holds the record in the number of restrung rackets? Well, we can confirm that Tamara Korpatsch from Germany and Lesia Tsurenko from Ukraine are still going strong and still hold a record of 16 rackets, however, Kristýna Plíšková, the only Czech player in singles, is stepping on their toes with 14 rackets. If she wins the quarterfinals, there is a high possibility that she is going to become our new “racket” leader.
And who are the gentlemen betting on the winner of the tournament? They all have different favourites, the one to whom they string rackets obviously! Michal Nechanický takes care of Simona Halep’s rackets, Richard Šodek is a fan of Kristýna Plíšková. "I wish the title will stay in the Czech Republic," he admitted, and Lukáš Frolík bets on his client Genie Bouchard. "Yeah, I'd really like that," Lukáš said, blushing slightly as his Canadian client appeared at the same moment at his racket counter after she won the match.
Finally, can you guess who was sitting in a hot seat during our online stream today? The tournament No 3 seed Elise Mertens from Belgium who was answering numerous fans' questions. You can watch the full Q&A now on our Instagram and you will find out whether she likes chocolate like a real Belgian, what are the names of her five dogs, what surface does she prefer to play on etc. And lastly, she would have not missed our famous emoji boomerang.
photo: TK SPARTA PRAHA/Pavel Lebeda (sport-pics.cz)
Author: eSports
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