Lucie Safarova and Tomas Berdych in Prague on Tuesday, December 22, 2009

2009 National Sports Award ceremony held at the Hotel Hilton on December 22, 2009 in Prague.

Tomas receives his award on stage

Standings:

Individuals: 1.Sablikova (speed skating) 1645 points, 2. Spotakova (athletics) 1437, 3. Vana(horse racing) 1357, 4. Zahrobska (downhill skiing) 1302, 5. Bauer (skicross-country) 1211, 6. Kreuziger (cycling) 1209, 7. Stepanek (tennis) 1155, 8.Cech (football) 744, 9. Kraus (ski cross) 675, 10. Berdych (tennis) 635.

Teams: 1. men's tennis team Czech Republic 606, 2. coxed pair (Chalupa, Makovicka, Hejdusek) 331, 3. Karlovy Varyice hockey team 285.

Lucie Safarova in Prague on Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tomas Berdych and Lucie Safarova

One of the longest-standing relationships on the tour is Czech duo Lucie Safarova and Tomas Berdych who have been together for sixyears.

 

The two grew up together in the Czech town of Prostejov.

 

“We understand what's it like for the other person because we are both players,” Safarova said.

 

“If I was with someone else, he might not understand howmuch I have to practice, or about matches, or about what the tour is really like. Tomas does.”

 

For Berdych, who has dipped his toes in the top ten duringhis time on the Tour, the notion that tennis would ruin their relationship makes no sense – in fact, he believes dating a fellow pro has its benefits.

 

“I think it’s true because we know each other, the travel, the practicing, all the things you do together in tennis, it works.”

 

The couple caught the public’s imagination at the 2007 Australian Open when Safarova won the biggest match of her career to date, beating defending champ Amelie Mauresmo to reach the quarter-finals. Within a minute, Tomas had wrapped up his match against Dmitry Tursunov as well.

 

Tomas Berdych at a gala in Prague on Tuesday, December 22, 2009

In a tradition that dates back to 1959, Czech sport journalists have voted on the man, woman, and team who impacted the most the world of Czech sports over the past twelve months. The Czech sport awards were presented at a ceremony on Tuesday evening in Prague's Hilton hotel.

 

Martina Sáblíková is the new queen of Czech sport. She won the 51st prestigious annual poll of journalists as the « Best Czech Athlete » with more than 200 points beating last year's winner Barbara Špotáková, third place went to jockey Josef Vana.

 

 

Best Czech Sportsperson of the Year 2009

 

1st Martina Sáblíková (speedskater) 1645 points

2nd Barbora Špotáková (javelin thrower) 1437

3rd Josef  Vana (jockey) 1357

4th Šárka Záhrobská (ski) 1302

5th Lukas Bauer (alpine ski racer) 1211

6th Roman Kreuziger (road bicycle racer) 1209

7th Radek Stepanek (tennis player) 1155

8th Petr Cech (football goalkeeper) 744

9th Tomas Kraus (alpine skiing and free style skiing) 675

10th Tomas Berdych (tennis player) 635

DC team posing during the National Sports Award ceremony

… and also honored the Czech Davis Cup players, the recent finalists in Barcelona against Spain. They won the award in the category « Team »

sharing "Best of Tomas Berdych 2009" in chronological order

All my flash files are >10 Mo, hosted at Photobucket, no Ads... please wait while slideshow is loading

Part 1 = 100 photos 10’28’’ – swf file 6.06 Mo

Part 2 = 125 photos 12’58’’ – swf file 8.00 Mo

file picture: Tomas, Jiri Novak and kids Club TK Agrofert Prostejov end Nov. 2009

merry Christmas, veselé Vánoce, joyeux Noël, frohe Weihnachten, shèng dàn kuài lè, merii kurisumasu, feliz Navidad, Z Rizdvom Hrystovym, buon Natale.