Drop-shot king Radek Stepanek executed his pre-match plans perfectly to “destroy the rhythm” of tournament favourite Fernando Verdasco in a thrilling Brisbane International final.
For a third straight match, Stepanek used all his wily wares to claw back from a set down against a higher ranked rival at Pat Rafter Arena and claim the tournament’s inaugural title on Sunday.
The upset 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory gave the canny Czech veteran and world No.26 just his third ATP career title which he celebrated with some on-court breakdancing better left in the 1980s.
“I do that always … well I did it for the third time, when I win a tournament,” the 30-year-old on-court entertainer joked after the fluctuating 2hr 15min affair.
“I’m very happy the way I played this week. I was fighting from the first to the very last point each match.”
Also being rehashed from his `80s experiences was Stepanek’s deft array of drop shots which succeeded in taking the powerful Verdasco out of his comfort zone on the baseline.
The left-handed Spanish Davis Cup hero moves swiftly around the court but was undone by the huge number of Stepanek chips after clinically taking the first set in 42 minutes.
But the eighth seed, who grew up in Karvina, a mining town near the Polish-Czech border, said they were nowhere near the amount he played as a junior.
“I just played a few today,” he said. “When I was young I played drop shots every second rally.
“It was part of the game plan to get him out of the rhythm and to move him around the court and it worked quite well.
“I was destroying the rhythm of the opponents since I was a kid and I’m still doing it today, but I’m more professional in many ways and that’s the biggest difference.”
Like he did in the quarterfinal against world No.17 Robin Soderling and semifinal against No.24 Richard Gasquet, Stepanek outsmarted Verdasco and got the capacity 5500-strong crowd behind him.
When he finally won his first game at 0-3, thanks to a blistering forehand winner down the line on the run, he played it up by animatedly blowing on his “hot” racquet.
Stepanek hit just 29 per cent of his first serves in the opening set but soon found his range and quickly pounced in the second by breaking in the fourth game and continuing his momentum.
Verdasco regained one of two service breaks in the third set but missed a hot chance to draw level at 4-4 but another drop shot snuffed out the left-hander’s opportunity.
Stepanek, who typically won the match with another drop shot, dedicated the victory to the baby son of his conditioning coach Mark Vseticek, born last fortnight.
Coached by another Czech, Petr Korda, Stepanek’s Brisbane run has him confident of a genuine assault at the Australian Open and return to the top 10.
He climbed as high as No.8 after a Wimbledon quarterfinal finish in 2006 but a back injury sidelined him for four months and he’s only just regaining his top form.
“I had to start work from zero, now it’s been two years and I’m starting to feel again that I’m getting to the top physically,” Stepanek said.
“This tournament proved to me I’m on a good way.”
Verdasco’s day got even worse as he and doubles partner Mischa Zverev were defeated in the doubles final by French duo Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marc Gicquel.
Tsonga and Gicquel wrapped up the final in straight sets, 6-4 6-3 in one hour and nine minutes.
Marc Gicquel and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.