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Hajek, Rosol gets singles call for Czechs

Lukas Rosol, shown at the 2012 Wimbledon championships, was put into the singles rotation for the Czech Republic for this week's Davis Cup quarterfinals in Kazakhstan. UPI/Hugo Philpott
Lukas Rosol, shown at the 2012 Wimbledon championships, was put into the singles rotation for the Czech Republic for this week's Davis Cup quarterfinals in Kazakhstan. UPI/Hugo Philpott | License Photo

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 4 (UPI) -- Defending champion Czech Republic will use Jan Hajek and Lukas Rosol for its Davis Cup singles matches this week in a quarterfinal series in Kazakhstan.

The Czechs turned almost exclusively to Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek -- both in singles and doubles -- in winning the Davis Cup title last year, but with Berdych suffering a shoulder injury last week and Stepanek recovering from neck surgery, Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil made sweeping changes in his lineup.

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The Czechs head to Kazakhstan for a best-of-five series on an indoor clay court in Astana, Kazakhstan. The winner qualifies for the Davis Cup semifinals Sept. 13-15 against either Argentina or France.

Hajek was given Friday's opening singles assignment against Kazakh No. 1 Mikhail Kukushkin. Rosol is to play Andrey Golubev in the second match Friday. They are to switch opponents for matches Sunday with Kukushkin meeting Rosol first and a Hajek-Golubev pairing wrapping up the series.

Stepanek, who hasn't played since the Australian Open, is to be action Saturday, teaming with Ivo Minar for a doubles match against Evgeny Korolev and Yuriy Schukin.

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Kazakhstan defeated the Czechs 3-2 in a 2011 first-round series in the only previous Davis Cup series between the countries.

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