ITF

F R U H V I R T O VA S I S T E R S captain Tomas Josefus insisted that Linda was determined to lead her nation to the top of the podium to exorcise the ghost of defeat in the decisive doubles match in last year's final against Russia. She did exactly that, recovering from an injury to her left hand to overcome USA's No. 1 Clervie Ngounoue and fire Czech Republic into an unassailable lead in the final, before dropping to her knees in celebration on the clay of the TK Plus Centre. Much of Czech Republic's success, however, was down to Brenda, who boasted a 100 per cent record from the 10 matches she contested during the week without dropping a set, all of which inevitably came against older competitors in the 14 and under tournament. "When I started to play tennis I always played against players who were older than me, so this is normal," said Brenda, who won the 14 and under category 1 Kungens Kanna & Drottningens Pris event in Stockholm in March. Perhaps Brenda's fearless approach stems from her tennis education alongside Linda, something which their father Hynek fondly recalls. "They had some intense battles growing up," he said. "The younger one always "They compete against each other on court only and when they walk off court it is a different story. They motivate each other and are both really supportive of each other." H Y N E K , L I N D A A N D B R E N D A ' S F A T H E R Linda sank to her knees as Czech Republic beat USA Brenda took time out from on-court action to play archery at the players' party 24 ITFWorld // AUTUMN 2019

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