Stepanek Seals Davis Cup Title for Czech Republic
Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in a deciding fifth rubber on Sunday in Belgrade to retain the Davis Cup title for the Czechs. In 2012, Stepanek also held on against Nicolas Almagro in the fifth rubber to lift the Czechs to a 3-2 win over Spain to win the 2012 Davis Cup. The Czech Republic has now won the Davis Cup crown three times, having also triumphed in 1980.
"I don't think words can describe it," said Stepanek. "To defend this trophy means the world for us and our country. We waited 32 years for the second title and now we are one of five countries that have been able to defend the title. We played in Serbia, on their surface, in front of their fantastic crowd. We made history today."
Stepanek has a 14-12 Davis Cup singles record. He was beaten by Novak Djokovic in Friday’s opening rubber, but teamed with Tomas Berdych on Saturday for a straight-sets win in the doubles rubber, which gave the Czech Republic a 2-1 lead going into the final day.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic had drawn his nation into a tie after beating Berdych 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-2 in the first of Sunday’s reverse singles. Djokovic improved to a 15-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Berdych after winning his 24th match in a row. After his win, Djokovic blew kisses to the crowd and asked them to stay and support Lajovic's effort.
"We only had so many fit and eligible players to choose from and although I must take responsibility for the outcome as the decision maker, I have no regrets about the team selection in any of the rubbers," Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said. "Missing two second-choice players was too big a blow and we just couldn't do more although we tried to cope with the tough situation as best we could. The positive thing is that we have expanded our Davis Cup team and we will keep the faith in our new arrivals."
