Czech to play Davis Cup quarterfinal with three players

Prague, March 30 (IANS) The Czech Republic will play its Davis Cup quarterfinal against Japan with only three players as one nominee suffered an injury, the Czech team captain said Saturday.

Nominee Jan Hajek said to quit the Tokyo quarterfinal as he suffered a knee injury, and captain Jaroslav Navratil decided not to replace him with another player for the quarterfinal on April 4-6, Xinhua reported.

“In view of the demanding transfer to Tokyo and the program of the other players that could fall into consideration, I’ve decided not to invite anyone else,” said Navratil. “We have a team that is capable of winning the Japanese match.”

The Czech Davis Cup team features three players Lukas Rosol, Radek Stepanek and Jiri Vesely.

Meanwhile, the Japanese team faces a similar problem. Its number one player Kei Nishikori suffers from groin troubles and his participation in the Davis Cup is uncertain.