He still has it in his hand. Former Czech tennis player Radek Štěpánek flashed an unprecedented exchange at the ongoing Australian Open. In the exhibition doubles, he worked his way to the winning ball on his knees.
Štěpánek flew to Melbourne primarily as the coach of Grand Slam quarterfinalist Sebastian Korda. But he managed to score an exhibition double alongside Tommy Haas.
And against the Cypriot-Australian duo Marcos Baghdatis, Mark Philippoussis scored several good shots.
But one exchange stood out above all. In the second set, Štěpánek got to the ground and immediately played the ball over the net five times, finally successfully throwing Baghatis over the line.
“To be fair, this might be the best winning ball at this year’s Australian Open,” the tournament’s official website tweeted about the exchange.
Although Štěpánek and Haas entertained the fans on Margaret Court, they lost 4:6 and 3:6.
The 44-year-old native of Karviná has great memories of the Australian Open. In 2012, he won the first of two Grand Slams in doubles in Melbourne, and five years later he played the last match of his active career here.
Now he tours tournaments with the descendant of his former coach Petr Korda. At this year’s Australian Open, Korda Jr. finished only in the quarterfinals, when he scrapped the battle with Russian Karen Khačanov due to a sore wrist.
