And so it’s come to this, after 30 matches Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek are the last two men left standing. The first seed meets the second. The defending champ against the world’s biggest server. Welcome to men’s final day at Brisbane International 2010.
First up at Pat Rafter Arena will be the doubles between French pair Jeremy Chardy and Marc Gicquel, and Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes, beginning at 2:00 pm.
Chardy and Gicquel defeated fancied American duo Andy Roddick and James Blake to make it to the final. While top-seeds Dlouhy and Paes have dropped only one set for the week.
The men’s singles final takes centre stage following the doubles final.
It was a mostly safe journey for former world No.1 Roddick, until the semifinals where Tomas ‘Big Bird’ Berdych stretched Roddick to three sets. It would have been a huge upset, but Roddick dug deep into his bag of tricks and foiled the No.4’s plot to ruin his well-laid plans.
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Stepanek, meanwhile, has left a trail of battered and bruised combatants in his wake. Third seed Gael Monfils, American Wayne Odesnik, qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr and Queenslander John Millman all felt the sting of the wily Czech’s racquet this week.
These two play very different games. Roddick is the quintessential power player – a booming serve, penetrating forehand and explosive reflexes are his trademark.
Stepanek, on the other hand, has been known to throw everything including the kitchen sink at his opponents. Variation is his game and he prides himself on his unpredictability and fitness.
The top seed versus the second seed, it certainly will be a fitting finale to Brisbane International 2010.