Radek Štěpánek

Radek Štěpánek
Radek Stepanek 2009 US Open.jpg
Country  Czech Republic
Residence Monte Carlo, Monaco
Date of birth 27 November 1978 (1978-11-27) (age 32)
Place of birth Karviná, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 76 kg (170 lb; 12.0 st)
Turned pro 1996
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money $6,393,242
Singles
Career record 264–184
Career titles 4
Highest ranking No. 8 (July 10, 2006)
Current ranking No. 30 (August 23, 2010)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open 3R (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)
French Open 4R (2008)
Wimbledon QF (2006)
US Open 4R (2009)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals RR (2008)
Doubles
Career record 175–117
Career titles 13
Highest ranking No. 13 (16 September 2002)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open QF (2007)
French Open SF (2007)
Wimbledon 3R (2004)
US Open F (2002)
Last updated on: July 14, 2010.

Radek Štěpánek (born 27 November 1978 in Karviná) (Czech pronunciation: [ˈradɛk ˈʃcɛpaːnɛk]) is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.

Contents

Career

Štěpánek turned professional in 1996. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles. He is known for his after the shot grunting, his over the top celebrations and his many relationships with WTA players.

Štěpánek first came to mainstream notice when he defeated former world no.1 Gustavo Kuerten in 5 sets on his way to the 3rd round of the 2003 Australian Open.

2006 was Štěpánek's best year to date, he found himself on the verge of getting into the top ten of ATP rankings, as he defeated José Acasuso in the semi-finals of the Masters Series event in Hamburg. He went on to lose the final in straight sets against Spain's Tommy Robredo. At that point, he achieved a career-high ATP world ranking of No. 11 in singles.

Earlier in 2006, he won his first ATP singles title, beating Christophe Rochus in Rotterdam, but he had yet to progress beyond the 3rd round of a Grand Slam tournament until he got into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he was eliminated by 34-year-old Jonas Björkman, after holding match point at 7–6 in the 4th set tiebreak.

This performance helped Štěpánek break into the top 10 and achieve his highest world ranking of No. 8. However, after Wimbledon, Štěpánek was out of action for the rest of the year due to a chronic neck injury.

In the second round of the 2007 U.S. Open, Štěpánek played a superb match against third seed Novak Djokovic, which he ended up losing after 4h44 of play in the ultimate tie-break of the fifth set. Although he lost the match, his defeat was a close one [7–6 (4), 6–7 (5), 7–5, 5–7, 6–7 (2)].

Earlier in 2007, he won his second ATP singles title, beating James Blake in Los Angeles in three sets.

2008

In 2008, he achieved some good results such as reaching the final in San Jose but lost to Andy Roddick. He also made it to the semi-finals in the Rome Masters losing to Novak Djokovic after he retired due to heat exhaustion. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he lost to Michaël Llodra in the first round in 3 sets. The final score was 6–4, 6–7 (5), 9–11. Štěpánek finished the season ranked 27, but attended the end of year Masters Cup as an alternate. He was vacationing in Thailand so was able to come to the tournament held in Shanghai without delay. Since he did not have his own tennis gear which got stuck in customs (they were sent from home), he had to borrow a racquet from Novak Djokovic and socks from Andy Murray.[1] After Andy Roddick pulled out through injury before his second match, Štěpánek entered the tournament with two round robin ties to play against Roger Federer and Gilles Simon. He gave the Number 2 seed Federer a tough match, losing 7–6(4), 6–4. But he was beaten comprehensively by Simon, losing 6–1, 6–4.

2009

Štěpánek started his 2009 season at the Brisbane International with a new Bosworth racquet, where he claimed his third ATP title after coming back from a set down to defeat Fernando Verdasco 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the final.[2] Then, at the Australian Open, he made it to the third round and was overpowered by Verdasco, 6–4, 6–0, 6–0.

At the SAP Open in San Jose, he won his fourth ATP singles title beating American Mardy Fish in a three set final. He also snapped a four-match losing streak in the tournament against Andy Roddick, upsetting him 3–6 7–6(5) 6–4 in the semi-final. He also captured the doubles title after teaming up with German Tommy Haas, making it his first time ever to win the singles and doubles titles at the same tournament week.

In the Davis Cup first round tie against France, he lost his opening match to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. But he regained his confidence and won the doubles rubber the next day and his second singles match against Gilles Simon in straight sets to give the Czech Republic its way to the quarter-finals. Then, in the Davis Cup quarter-finals, he won the deciding fifth rubber to lead his country to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Stepanek battled Ivo Karlović to a 6–7 7–6 7–6 6–7 16–14 victory in a marathon opener in which the 82 games played equalled the highest number in a Davis Cup rubber since the introduction of the tiebreak in 1989[3]. In that match, he was aced 78 times, but overall hit more winners – over 170 (including service winners). The match was one of the longest in the history of the Davis Cup, lasting 5 h 59 min. There were only three breaks of serve in this match.[4] In the finals of the Davis Cup versus Spain, Stepanek lost to David Ferrer after being 2 sets up, 1–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 8–6. The Czech Republic lost 5–0 to Spain.

2010

Stepanek returned to the Brisbane International to defend the title he won in the previous year (d. Verdasco). He managed to make a second-successive final appearance; but failed to defend the title, losing to Andy Roddick 6–7(2), 6–7(7). He also teamed up with Tomáš Berdych to reach the doubles quarter-finals, only to lose to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel.

Seeded 13th at the 2010 Australian Open, he lost in the 1st round to Ivo Karlović in five sets; 6–2, 6–7(5), 4–6, 6–3, 4–6.

Personal life

He had been engaged to Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis, but they split up in August 2007.[5][6] Štěpánek was engaged to former top-ten Czech tennis player Nicole Vaidišová[7]. They married in July 17 2010.

Stepanek also owns a condominium in Bradenton, Florida. He is coached by former Australian Open champion Petr Korda.

Major Finals

ATP Masters Series Finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 2004 Paris Carpet (i) Russia Marat Safin 6–3, 7–6(5), 6–3
Runner-up 2006 Hamburg Clay Spain Tommy Robredo 6–1, 6–3, 6–3

Career Finals

Singles: 11 (4–7)

Wins (4)
Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (1)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (3)
Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. November 1, 2004 Paris, France Carpet (i) Russia Marat Safin 6–3, 7–6(5), 6–3
Runner-up 2. 31 January 2005 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Sweden Robin Söderling 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–6(5)
Runner-up 3. 26 September 2005 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Hard (i) Sweden Jonas Björkman 6–3, 7–6(4)
Runner-up 4. 21 May 2006 Hamburg, Germany Clay Spain Tommy Robredo 6–1, 6–3, 6–3
Winner 1. 13 June 2006 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard (i) Belgium Christophe Rochus 6–0, 6–3
Winner 2. 22 July 2007 Los Angeles, USA Hard United States James Blake 7–6(7), 5–7, 6–2
Runner-up 5. 24 February 2008 San José, USA Hard United States Andy Roddick 6–4, 7–5
Winner 3. 11 January 2009 Brisbane, Australia Hard Spain Fernando Verdasco 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner 4. 15 February 2009 San José, USA Hard (i) United States Mardy Fish 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 6. 22 February 2009 Memphis, USA Hard (i) United States Andy Roddick 7–5, 7–5
Runner-Up 7. 10 January 2010 Brisbane, Australia Hard United States Andy Roddick 7–6(2), 7–6(7)

Doubles (13)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponents in the final Score
1. 26 April 1999 Prague, Czech Republic Clay Czech Republic Martin Damm United States Mark Keil
Ecuador Nicolás Lapentti		 6–0, 6–2
2. 9 April 2001 Estoril, Portugal Clay Czech Republic Michal Tabara United States Donald Johnson
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić		 6–4, 6–1
3. 30 April 2001 Munich, Germany Clay Czech Republic Petr Luxa Brazil Jaime Oncins
Argentina Daniel Orsanic		 5–7, 6–2, 7–65
4. 8 October 2001 Vienna, Austria Hard (i) Czech Republic Martin Damm Czech Republic Jiří Novák
Czech Republic David Rikl		 6–3, 6–2
5. 29 April 2002 Munich, Germany Clay Czech Republic Petr Luxa Czech Republic Petr Pála
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner		 6–0, 64–7, [11–9]
6. 27 January 2003 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Czech Republic Petr Luxa Czech Republic Tomáš Cibulec
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner		 6–4, 7–64
7. 16 February 2004 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard (i) Australia Paul Hanley Israel Jonathan Erlich
Israel Andy Ram		 5–7, 7–65, 7–5
8. 12 July 2004 Stuttgart, Germany Clay Czech Republic Jiří Novák Sweden Simon Aspelin
Australia Todd Perry		 6–2, 6–4
9. 13 September 2004 Delray Beach, U.S. Hard India Leander Paes Argentina Gastón Etlis
Argentina Martín Rodríguez		 6–0, 6–3
10. 7 February 2005 Marseille, France Hard (i) Czech Republic Martin Damm The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor		 7–64, 7–65
11. 21 February 2005 Dubai, U.A.E Hard Czech Republic Martin Damm Sweden Jonas Björkman
France Fabrice Santoro		 6–2, 6–4
12. 13 February 2006 Marseille, France Hard (i) Czech Republic Martin Damm The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor		 6–2, 64–7, [10–3]
13. 15 February 2009 San Jose, U.S. Hard (i) Germany Tommy Haas India Rohan Bopanna
Finland Jarkko Nieminen		 6–2, 6–3

ITF Singles titles (3)

No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 3 August 1998 Segovia, Spain Hard Germany Alex Rădulescu 7–5 7–5
2. 2 June 2003 Czech Open, Prostějov, Czech Republic Clay Argentina Mariano Puerta 7–5 6–3
3. 31 May 2004 Czech Open, Prostějov, Czech Republic Clay Czech Republic Michal Tabara 7–6 7–5

Singles performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through to the Monte Carlo Masters, which ended 19 April 2009.

Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Career Win-Loss
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A A LQ A A 3R 2R 3R 2R 3R 1R 3R 1R 10–8
French Open A A A LQ A A A LQ 2R 1R 3R 3R 2R 4R 3R A 11–7
Wimbledon A A A A LQ LQ LQ 3R 3R 2R 2R QF 1R 3R 4R A 15–8
US Open A A A A A LQ A 1R 3R 1R 2R A 2R 3R 4R 1R 9–8
Win-Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 7–4 2–4 6–4 7–3 4–4 7–4 10–4 0–2 45–31
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells A A A A A A A A 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 3R 2R 2R 1–8
Miami A A A A LQ A A A 4R 3R 4R 4R 4R 4R 4R A 15–7
Monte Carlo A A A A A A A A 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R A 3–7
Rome A A A A A A A A 3R 2R QF 3R 2R SF 3R A 15–7
Madrid A A A A A A A A A A QF A 1R 2R 1R A 3–4
Montreal / Toronto A A A A A A A 3R 1R A 1R A SF 1R 1R 1R 6–7
Cincinnati A A A A A A A LQ 1R LQ 1R A 2R 1R 3R 1R 3–6
Shanghai NH Not ATP Masters Series Not Held Not ATP Masters Series QF 3–1
Paris A A A A A A A 2R 1R F SF A A 2R SF 13–6
Hamburg A A A A A A A A 1R A 2R F 1R A NM1 6–4
Year-End Championship
ATP World Tour Finals A A A A A A A A A A A A A RR A 0–2
Total Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 4
Year End Ranking 1065 484 401 165 165 277 542 63 46 33 20 19 29 26 12 264–187

References

  1. ↑ Radek Stepanek, Tennis Masters Cup, 12 November 2008 Tennisnews.com, 12 November 2008
  2. ↑ Stepanek Rallies Past Verdasco for Brisbane Title SI.com, 11 January 2009
  3. ↑ http://in.reuters.com/article/worldOfSport/idINIndia-42569020090919
  4. ↑ BBC World Sport Today September 19, 2009.
  5. ↑ Martina Hignis and Radek Stepanek break up | Martina Hingis
  6. ↑ Tennis-Hingis and Stepanek split up | Sports | Tennis | Reuters
  7. ↑ Djokovic charms crowd, crushes Stepanek to reach quarterfinals

External links

Association of Tennis Professionals: Czech Republic Top ten Czech male singles tennis players as of November 29, 2010
1. Tomáš Berdych (6 steady)  2. Radek Štěpánek (62 increase1)  3. Jan Hájek (97 decrease2)  4. Jaroslav Pospíšil (140 increase1)  5. Lukáš Rosol (164 steady)
6. Ivo Minář (167 increase1)  7. Dušan Lojda (229 steady)  8. Jan Hernych (241 increase1)  9. Jan Minář (343 decrease2)  10. Jan Mertl (401 increase1)