PRAGUE, Feb 24 — Lukas Rosol will spearhead the Czech Republic’s team for the Davis Cup World Group first round match with Australia from March 6-8 in Ostrava, team captain Jaroslav Navratil announced yesterday.

Rosol, ranked 30th in the world, will be the highest-ranked player after world number 8 Tomas Berdych said he would give the match a miss.

Both Berdych and veteran Radek Stepanek, who is injured, were pivotal players in the Davis Cup winning teams of 2012 and 2013.

Switzerland replaced them as champions last year.

Rosol, who was in a similar position in last year’s quarter-finals which resulted in a 5-0 thrashing of Japan, will be joined by Jiri Vesely, ranked 46th in the world.

Two players ranked lower than 200 make up the team, in Adam Pavlasek and Jan Mertl. — AFP