By Christopher Lancette
In a match that appeared to feature teacher versus student, Radek Stepanek earned a spot in the finals after he thrashed Donald Young for a 6-3, 6-3 at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Saturday afternoon and demonstrated that the youthful and much-hyped American is still not ready for prime time. The Czech ran Young sideways, up, back and in a few other directions – opening acres of space for an unending series of winners all day long.
Youth be damned. It was intellect and experience that carried the day and will move the 32-year-old Stepanek, already the oldest man in the top 100, higher up the rankings from his No. 54 spot.
“Yeah, definitely,” Stepanek said in response to a WTM question about whether brains mattered more than brawn. “I came prepared technically the best that I can for every match. I played different than he was used to. That paid off. I was trying to be aggressive and attack his second serve, just putting that pressure on him and I was in control the whole time.”
Up 2-0 at deuce in the second set, for example, Stepanek served, volleyed and smashed an overhead that Young futilely chased although the ball bounced well over his head. Stepanek forced an error on the next point when he made Young hit a racquet ball shot with his back to the court, then finished the game on a backhand volley.
Those kinds of plays gave Young cases of the grumps throughout the match. Young spent much of the afternoon thrashing his body around in frustration and, to the annoyance of many of his critics who would like to see him coached by people other than his parents, talking to his mother in the front row. She also accompanied him to the press conference afterward.
Up 5-3 and serving the first point of the game, Stepanek yanked Young off the court, came in behind it and hit a forehand winner up the line. He went up 30-0 on a serve-and-volley and closed out the match on a pair of service winners.
Young admitted that he was overmatched by his veteran opponent.
“He took me out of my game pretty much,” he said. “He played different, changed the pace. He attacked. He didn’t really let me really get set into the way I wanted to play or have been playing. I was a little off today but that was probably accredited a lot to him.”
Asked whether he tried making and adjustments and if they worked, Young quipped, “All of ‘em didn’t work, obviously, because it didn’t end up with me coming back and winning. I tried to start putting a few more balls in play, not going for as much because it wasn’t landing like it was previously. I had to go through everything I wanted to do because he had me quite flustered anyway.”
The win continues a great week for Stepanek, who won a final in San Jose in February of 2009. His last final appearance came in a loss to Andy Roddick in Brisbane in January of this year.
“I think it’s very important,” he said of his week in Washington. “I’m getting my ranking much better for next week. It’s very important to be seeded at the U.S. Open which would be a great bonus for me, but the main thing I’m looking forward to is tomorrows match. It’s great to play a final in such a big event and I’m looking forward to it.”
Stepanek will face the winner of the Gael Monfils/John Isner match.
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Photo credit by © Won-ok Kim
