Just One Point Away from Victory

Somewhat unusually, the 15th round of the Men's Extraliga took place on Tuesday, February 11th. Our "B" team faced their regional rivals from Havířov. On paper, the favorites were clear, especially with Tomáš Polanský missing the match due to injury. However, our guys proved that being the favorite doesn't automatically guarantee a win.

Right from the start, Štěpán Brhel showed that we wouldn't give up a single point for free by defeating Jan Valenta 3-2 after an impressive comeback from 0-2 down. An even bigger surprise came in the second singles, where Jindřich Morávek took on Manush Shah. To everyone's surprise, the home player won by taking the decisive fifth set. That put the home team ahead 2-0 in matches, just one win away from their first victory — which unfortunately never came.

In the clash of the third players, Ondřej Bajger couldn't overcome Michal Blinka, which seemed to ignite the visitors. In the fourth singles, much to the home team's misfortune, Štěpán failed to convert four match points against Shah. With the score tied 2-2, the final outcome was decided between Jindra Morávek and Jan Valenta. The victory ultimately went to the Havířov player, sealing the win for his team — but only after a hard fight.