By Charles Bricker
Showing no signs of jet lag after a long flight from Indian Wells, Calif., Radek Stepanek strode into the Crowne Plaza hotel here in Sunrise, Fla., and confirmed that he and longtime girl friend Nicole Vaidisova will be married later this year, putting an exclamation point on a wedding report that has been circulating for two months.
No date or month has been set, but this apparently is the end of the tournament trail for former Bollettieri ingenue Vaidisova, who turns 21 on April 23. After reaching the French Open semis in 2006 and the Australian Open semis a year later, Vaidisova’s career has resembled a runaway Toyota.
First rumblings of their impending marriage began after Vaidisova flunked out of a Challenger tournament near Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 18, losing to little known teenager Christina McHale 6-2, 6-4 in a very poor performance. She hasn’t played since and her ranking, once No. 7 (2007) is now 176.
This is the first marriage for both, though it’s the second, and maybe the third, engagement for Stepanek, 31. He was briefly affianced to Martina Hingis before he and Vaidisova became romantically involved in 2007. Then, in what now appears to have been something of a practical joke, Stepanek and Vaidisova took out a marriage license in Manatee County, Fla., not long after they became involved with each other.
Stepanek was asked where the marriage will take place — in Bradenton, where Vaidisova lives near the Bollettieri IMG Academy –or in their home country of the Czech Republic.
“I don’t think you need to know that,” said Stepanek. “Maybe Cuba,” he joked.
Stepanek, nick-named “The Worm” because of his silly post-match celebratory dance, is in Florida to play the Sunrise BMW Challenger after being knocked out early at Indian Wells. He’ll use the tournament to get ready for the Sony Ericsson Open on Key Biscayne, which begins down the road near Miami in a week.
Stepanek is ranked No. 17 and seeded No. 1 in Sunrise. Vaidisova accompanied him to the tournament and they looked relaxed and happy as they walked into the hotel.
Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com