Radek Stepanek leads Czech Republic for Davis Cup glory – Tennis News

Radek Stepanek leads Czech Republic for Davis Cup glory – Tennis News

World number 31, Radek Stepanek, displayed his best tennis to overpower the Spanish number three, Nicolas Almagro, in the fifth and deciding rubber at the Davis Cup 2012 last weekend. As a result, Czech Republic captured their first Davis Cup title since 1980 and their maiden since their independence.

The 33-year-old conquered the 100^th Davis Cup final for his nation after outlasting Almagro in a four-set thriller. He lost his concentration in the third set but remained focused, eventually carving out a 6-4, 7-6(0), 3-6, 6-3 victory in three hours and 52 minutes.

The Czech veteran beamed after leading his nation to glory.

“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.”

David Ferrer lead Spain to a 1-0 lead after conquering the opening rubber against Stepanek in straight sets. However, the Czech number one Tomas Berdych triumphed over Almagro in a five-set nail-biter to put Czech Republic back in contention.

Stepanek and Berdych then led the home nation to a 2-1 lead after winning the doubles rubber against Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez in four sets.

However, the Spanish number two crushed Berdych in straight sets and levelled the terms with 2-2.

In the final rubber, Stepanek unleashed his skills and overpowered Almagro and Spain at the O2 Arena in Prague.

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Posted by Awais Ahmed on Nov 21 2012. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.