This was the first BATS group trip to watch tennis together since the beginning of the pandemic. We had of course originally been booked and ready to go to watch Team GB play in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Innsbruck last year, but which to our utmost disappointment had been heartbreakingly stolen from us by the Austrian government’s decision to put their country into lockdown just 5 days before we were due to go!
As a result, it was simply fantastic to be finally able to travel to Prague to watch Team GB battle it out on clay with the Czech Republic for a place in the Billie Jean Cup quarter finals later this year.
Several of us who had not visited Prague before, took the opportunity to fly out a few days in advance in order to savour some sightseeing of this beautiful city ahead of the actual match itself. I for one, was bowled over by the magnificent architecture and gastronomic delights we encountered there. We visited the castle and strolled through the many winding, cobbled streets of the Old Town, all made even better by being blessed with gorgeous warm sunshine. We also dined in style at various restaurants, my particular favourite being the Mlýnec, which sits right next to the famous Charles Bridge.
And so to Thursday evening, where we convened as a group at the Kolkovna Celnice restaurant, a bustling place with a great atmosphere. All twenty-five of us sat around a long table to enjoy some Czech hospitality and muse about the upcoming competition.
The next day, we made the short journey on foot over to the island just across the river to where the stadium was located at the Prague Tennis Club. Unlike the Davis Cup competitions, it was a strikingly low key affair, with little to no hoardings advertising that an international match was about to take place.
However, that was not going to stop us supporting our team in good voice and true BATS style, decked out in our Union Jack flags and red tops, which due to the extreme dip in temperature, quickly ended up concealed under every layer of warmth we could muster! In fact, not only were we sat in the shade, but we were plagued by an icy wind which seemed to swirl around us unabated for most of the time we were sat there.
First up was Marketa Vondrousova vs Harriet Dart, which turned out to be a rather depressing display of incessant drop shots by the Czech, which Harriet simply could not read and as a result, Vondrousova made an easy and quick victory in straight sets at 6-1, 6-0.
Next up was Tereza Martincova vs Emma Raducanu. This match in complete contrast was a competitive contest between the two, featuring some hard hitting shots down the line, winning Emma the match in straight sets, but by 7-5, 7-5. In this match she was fully engaged with the task at hand and her victory celebration at the end showed how much it meant to her, bringing the score to a 1-1 draw at the end of the first day, a position we dared not have hoped for at the start!
By the time we left the stadium and got back to the hotel, we deemed it necessary in order to avoid hypothermia to trot down to a lovely coffee shop nearby and save ourselves with some delicious cake and hot chocolate – purely for medicinal purposes you understand!
With the weather forecast promising a fall of 5 degrees on the already chilly temperatures of the previous day, on Saturday morning we layered on about as many clothes as we had in our suitcases in a vain attempt to combat what we knew would be a very cold day ahead. And we weren’t wrong. Several of us commented on how the cold seemed to just cut right through to our bones. However, perseverance is a wonderful thing!
We initially anticipated the order of play on the second day to be the reverse of Friday’s matches and first up it was Marketa Vondrousova vs Emma Raducanu. After Emma’s fantastic win the day before, we could have been forgiven for expecting another victory. However, on this occasion it was not to be, as it quickly became apparent that something was ailing her and news quickly filtered through to us that she was suffering from blisters, something she has suffered from before during a match. It was tremendously disappointing to watch the match inexorably slip away from Emma and for Vondrousova to capitalise with another straight sets win of 6-1, 6-1.
At this point, we fully expected the second match to be the reverse of the previous day with Harriet Dart vs Tereza Martincova. However, the Czech team surprised us all by putting in their new rising star, the youngster Linda Fruhvirtova, who while she clearly demonstrated her amazing talent was to our glee, no match for an inspired Harriet Dart, who played astoundingly well. She bageled Fruhvirtova in the first set and looked on course to win the second set with some ease, until she started to struggle to close it out, resulting in Fruhvirtova levelling up at one set all (7-5). In the third and final set, for a short time, it looked as if the same thing might be in danger of happening, however Harriet battled through and took the third set by 6-2 and as a result, the score now stood at a tantalising 2-2, with all to play for in the upcoming doubles match.
At this point we scurried out of the stadium en masse to thaw out in the sunshine and drink some tea to warm up and thankfully a group decision was made to migrate over to the Czech side of the stadium, which was completely bathed in life-giving sunshine! There was much enjoyable banter between the British and Czech fans and we all settled down to what we hoped might be a victory for Team GB to qualify.
Our doubles team was Harriet Dart, fresh from her resounding victory and Katie Swan vs Marketa Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova, who stamped their authority on the match in the first set by taking it emphatically by 6-1. In the second set, our girls mounted a brave comeback, but sadly it was not to be and the Czech pair won 7-5 to take the match in straight sets and thus the qualification later in the year.
Following the match, the LTA invited us to a reception at the players’ hotel, where the wine and canapés flowed delectably. While it was a disappointing result for us to lose to the Czech Republic, it wasn’t unexpected and we still have the chance to enter the final stages on a wildcard if the UK are successful in their bid to host the event later in the year. I am sure we will be hoping very much that we do and that we can return to cheer on our brave Billie Jean Cup GB Team again.
