Czech tennis team advance to Davis Cup World Group playoff

PRAGUE - The Czech tennis team beat the Israeli team 3-1 in the Davis Cup second round of the Europe/Africa Zone on Saturday in Ostrava.

With this victory, the Czech team advanced to the World Group playoff which will be held in September this year.

Jiri Vesely and Adam Pavlasek's 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Jonathan Erlich and Yshai Oliel in the doubles sealed the deal for the Czech team.

The Czech side took a 2-0 lead in Friday's action as Vesely defeated Edan Leshem 6-0, 6-1 and Pavlasek overcame Dudi Sela 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Czech star Radek Stepanek announced his retirement in November 2017, and Czech No. 1 Tomas Berdych announced in February 2018 that he will not play the Davis Cup anymore.

The duo helped the Czech team win the Davis Cup in 2012 and 2013. This is the first time for the new Czech team played in the team event without Berdych and Stepanek.