Tough moment for Stepanek. The 34 years-old had a not so good Australian Open to lose in singles in the third round (against Djokovic) and to crash out in doubles in the first match (he was the defending champion with Leander Paes).
Now Radek was supposed to play an interesting Davis Cup tie against a “Federer less” Switzerland, but he had to undergo an operation to his back.
Team captain Jaroslav Navratil said “Radek’s health is the priority, I hope we win the match anyway.”
The Czech Repupubblic is the current Davis Cup champion as they defeated Spain 3-2 in last year final and Stepanek was the hero of the tie after defeating Almagro in the deciding match.
The world no.189 Ivo Minar will replace Stepanek. The Czech team can always rely on world no.6 Tomas Berdych.
A magic from last year’s final
