The Czech A-Teams

Although the Czech Republic has given so many great tennis champions in previous years, recently the country failed to produced the same amount of talent. Martina Navratilova, Iva Lendl,  Hana Mandlikova or Jana Novotna are all legends of the game, but after their retirement, their place was hard to fill.

However with Kvitova's stunning triumph at Wimbledon and Berdych's sudden glimpses of magic, the nation finally got something to cheer about. The duo showed their class in the beginning of the season, teaming up to win the mixed-doubles event in Perth. They were imperious in winning the Hopman Cup, disposing of the Frenchmen Marion Bartoli and Richard Gasquet in the final.

The successes kept on coming for the Czech, as Kvitova and co. successfully defended their Fed Cup title. It was Safarova though who clinched the final victory over Serbia, as she defeated both former number 1s, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, to bring in two vital points. 

Inspired by their female counterparts performance, the Czech squad lead by Berdych was determined to end Spain's reign in the Davis Cup and collect the country's first trophy as an independent nation. To help their cause, Corretja's team was deprived of its main superstar, Nadal continuing to be sidelined by the knee injury that forced him to miss the second half of the season. However, with Ferrer in hot form and Almagro as the supporting actor, the Spaniards were not to be dismissed easily.

Day 1 saw the two nations tied at 1-1, with Berdych beating Almagro in a five set thriller, while Ferrer cruised passed Stepanek. The doubles match proved vital in determining the winner. Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez were starting as hot favourites having just claimed the ATP World Tour Championships in London, but old fox Stepanek was yet to say his last word. He and Berdych produced a superb performance to recover from the loss of the opening set to stun the Spaniards 3-6,7-5,7-5,6-3. Stepanek was top notch on Sunday too, scoring the decisive point with a four set victory over Nicolas Almagro.

With Berdych losing in straight sets to Ferrer it was up to Radek to clinch the win and his older compatriot did not waste the opportunity. "I was dreaming about it my whole life and now we're standing here as Davis Cup champions, it's amazing," Stepanek said. "I had a lot of chances in the second set. I was playing very aggressive today; I wanted to be the one who was more active. Even though I lost the third set, I had no doubt about my tactics. I came on the court with a mindset that I had to stay calm, hungry and concentrated. That's what I did tremendously well today."

Having won all the team trophies in 2012, the Czech Republic has established itself as the dominant force in the world.

Radek Stepanek, Tomas Berdych, Ivo Minar and Lukas Rosol respectively, won Czech Republic's first Davis Cup trophy since the country's independence. They beat Spain 3-2 in front of a magnified crowd in Prague.

Earlier this month, Lucie Safarova, Petra Kvitova and doubles specialists, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, won the Fed Cup final against Serbia. Former world number 1s, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, were unable to cope with an inspired Safarova, who brought in two decisive points. 

At the start of the season, Petra Kvitova teamed up with Tomas Berdych to win the Hopman Cup in a final against Marion Bartoli and Richard Gasquet of France.

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Cold Blooded Rosol Knocks Out Nadal

Until today, Lukas Rosol was a no-name on the ATP tour. However, a stunning display against world number 2 and recent French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, in the second round at Wimbledon would change all that. Showing nerves of steel, serving impeccable and hitting some killer groundstrokes, the Czech shocked Nadal, succumbing the Spaniard's resistance for an epic 6-7,6-4,6-4,2-6,6-4 victory. 

Lukas might have been ranked number 100 in the world before Wimbledon, but he played this match like a genuine top 4 contestant. The way he served for the match was sublime. While many crumbled under pressure, Rosol kept his cold blood, serving three aces to seal to love the biggest win of his career. “Before the last game, I was not sure if I will be shaking or not because it was the first time against Rafa and the first time also in Wimbledon Centre Court,” he said. “You never know what to expect, so it was not easy, and I survived." Commenting on what the result means to him, Lukas concluded: "Today I was somewhere else and I'm really happy for this. Still, I cannot find the words. I still can't believe it. It's like a dream for me.”

Nadal's loss marks the end of a disappointing grass-court season. After failing to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarterfinals in Halle, this is going to be the first year since 2005 that the Spaniard will not contest the Wimbledon final (in 2009 he did not participate due to an injury). With the Olympics just around the corner, Rafa needs to adjust his game immediately if he wants to stand a chance of repeating his 2008 Beijing triumph.

Rosol became the only player to beat Nadal in the first week of a Slam since Gilles Müller achieved the same feat at the 2005 Wimbledon. The loss also marks the Spaniard's first Wimbledon defeat before the final since that 2005 edition.

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