Radek Stepanek reveals he always dreamt to win Davis Cup – Tennis News
Czech Republic’s national hero, Radek Stepanek, has shared that it’s an amazing feeling to win the Davis Cup, as he always wanted to clinch the biggest team event in tennis for his country.
Czech Republic did very well in this year’s Davis Cup competition and faced defending champion, Spain, in the final. Czechs had a huge advantage, as they were the hosts, so they had the privilege of choosing playing surface. Spain
was also without its best player, Rafael Nadal, who withdrew from the event due to knee injury.
It all came to Stepanek’s shoulders at the end and he showed that they are old but still strong. The 33-year-old stunned the world number 11, Nicolas Almagro of Spain, in four sets in the fifth and final match to win the tie and
Davis Cup crown for Czech Republic.
The Czech star said in an interview, "I was dreaming about it my whole life and now we're standing here as Davis Cup champions, it's amazing. I had a lot of chances in the second set. I was playing very aggressive today; I wanted
to be the one who was more active. Even though I lost the third set, I had no doubt about my tactics. I came on the court with a mindset that I had to stay calm, hungry and concentrated. That's what I did tremendously well today."
Stepanek was the underdog in his match against Almagro for two reasons. Firstly, Stepanek does not play many singles events on the tour these days. He used to be a top-10 player in the world six years ago but now he concentrates
on doubles. Secondly, the veteran was playing his third match in as many days. Almagro got rest on the second day of tie but Stepanek played the doubles too, partnering Tomas Berdych to stun the winners of Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Marcel Granollers
and Marc Lopez.
On the opening day of the tie, Stepanek had lost to the world number five, David Ferrer, in straight sets in the first rubber of the tie. However, the man of steel bounced back from that loss to become a hero of his nation.
Stepanek also took revenge from the Spaniards, as he was a member of the Czech team, which got thrashed 0-5 in the 2009 Davis Cup final. Spain was host at that time and organized the tie on the slow courts that suited its players.
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