“It was absolutely fantastic. Since I finished, I have felt the passion of tennis again,” the former eighth player in the world, who left world tennis four years ago, told ČTK. “It was a lot of fun, people drawn into the action and having fun with tennis, that’s my DNA,” he said enthusiastically.
As soon as he arrived at the famous Royal Albert Hall, his heart pounded. He saw on the walls who performed here. “Like Muhammad Ali,” he mentioned the famous boxer. “The hall is magical. When it was still empty, I felt like the hall was talking about itself. The atmosphere was wonderful, the spectators in the lodges. It wasn’t a bad ticket and we still had contact with the audience.”
He played Wimbledon fourteen times during his career, but did not even enter the famous hall as a spectator. “I was there for the first time in my life and at the same time it was the last year. It’s supposed to move to another place in London. That’s why I appreciated that I could experience it first hand,” said Štěpánek. The strong experience was enhanced by the fact that the audience recorded a “Happy Birthday” for his 43rd birthday on Saturday.
He was honestly preparing for four days of tennis. And the result? He won a doubles pair with German Tommy Haas and all four singles. He defeated the Spaniard Nicolas Almagro twice, once the Belgian Xavier Maliss and once on Sunday in the decisive duel of Chilan Fernando Gonzalez.
“I say that the result is always in the first place, but no, it was different here,” said Štěpánek. “I was glad we all saw each other after such a long time. It occurs to me that Haas plays as if he’s not finished. David Ferrer has traditionally been in incredible condition and Berda (Tomáš Berdych) is also fit. It also had a fairly high level of tennis, so it wasn’t just about jokes. “
In the match with Maliss, Štěpánek played a long exchange in the first set in the fight for the set. “Maybe fifty punches. Then we both ended up on the ground, lying as we were boiled and calling 911,” he joked. “I wonder how I’m going to get out of this.”
In the final, he won the title match with González, with whom Tomáš Berdych was on the team. “I went to the court and Berďa says: We probably won’t win if you like the decisive (matches) so much,” said Štěpánek, the author of the victory points from the final matches of the Davis Cup in 2012 and 2013. He outperformed Gonzalez playfully. “He gained quite a lot, so I had a big advantage,” said Štěpánek.
Veterans’ matches, like the recent Under-21 Championships, have been played in sets of four winning games. “You make one mistake and the set is a wonder in fifteen minutes. I don’t think that’s the future of real tennis,” says Štěpánek. “It’s a lottery and it doesn’t show how physically prepared one is, how they can handle mental fluctuations in a long match. Gladiators leave it.”
Štěpánek is not going to return to tennis. “Australia is calling, that’s true, but I’m not raising,” he laughed. However, he will not resist any offers for veteran events. “I’m picking up there. If I get an invitation, I’ll be happy to come, because this was really fun.”
During his stay in London, he also got into football. Former goalkeeper Petr Čech, currently an advisor to the sports and technical department of Chelsea, took him to a match with Manchester United. “Čechín invited me to the director’s lodge for lunch, there was also the drummer of the group Roger Taylor and the head of Chelsea. Then I looked at the half and went to the tennis hall,” Štěpánek said.
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