Two big men of Czech tennis

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32522, 4 February 1971, Page 12

Two big men of Czech tennis

Two of the big men of the BP New Zealand tennis championships-at Wilding Park this week, in the physical sense of the word, are the visitors from Czechoslovakia. Milan Holecek is a 27-year-old who towers to 6ft 3Jin and weighs 14Jst. “I am a little too heavy. I would be OK if I was down to about 14st,” he said yesterday. And Vladimir Zednik, very fair where Holecek is dark, and younger by three years, is somewhat bigger—6ft 4in and 15st. “How is that in kilos?” he asked. Some quick and approximate calculations came out with 95, and that quite pleased Zednik. “I am always about 90 kilos, maybe a kilo one way." Zednik became interested in'tennis at about the age of 13, so he went and played. Holecek could hardly help having an interest in the sport, however. His mother was Czechoslovakian cham-

pion in 1951, and young Milan, also when he was 13, found himself playing the sport. The tournament in Christchurch is the first, and possibly the last, sight New Zealand will have of these two massive men, although they like touring. “It is very difficult to plan anything in Czechoslovakia,” said Holecek who, like Zednik, lives in Prague. "We have permission to leave to play tennis, but it is going to be more difficult to get that permission. We think just a very few top sportsmen will be allowed out of Czechoslovakia.” So the educating of these tennis players to grass courts might be sharply curtailed. There are, they say, only clay courts in their own country, and they “would like to learn to play on grass.” Not that their records in Australia were very bad, considering that apart from the Wimbledon and Forest Hills tournaments, this was their first experience Of grass. Playing together, they

reached the doubles final at the Tasmanian championships where they were beaten by the Australians, J. Alexander and P. Dent; and also reached the doubles final of the abandoned Victorian championships. And Holecek, playing with the Scot, Miss W. Shaw, reached the mixed doubles final at Hobart only for that, too, to be washed out. The bad weather in Australia was frustrating for the Czechs, who were very keen to pracise on grass and could not. But they have a programme incorporating various surfaces. After the Christchurch tournament, they are heading for the,United States to play indoors, and then to the Caribbean. , Both are registered players; Holecek has been playing tournaments for six years Zednik two. Both are paying their own way on their world travels. “If we were home, we would have to work," said Holecek sadly. “We are clerks and jobs like that, because we have no time for important jobs."

But he did confess he found it good occasionally to get home. “Sometimes, touring, you get tired, but if you want to do well, you have to play all the time. But you meet a lot of nice people touring in tennis.” Very healthy-looking types they have interests in other sports. Zednik used to play table tennis, swims and likes all sports. Holecek once played ice hockey—with bis build he would be a fearsome opponent and likes soccer. Finally, they touched on the demonstrations against the South African girls, Misses L. Rossouw and B. Kirk, in Melbourne—and Holecek is likely to be playing Miss Rossouw tomorrow in the mixed doubles. “They are two nice girls, but young people are so stupid. They want to be popular but they are not good enough in other things, and this is the only way they can get in the papers,” said Holecek. “They like to see their pictures in the paper.” l