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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 12, 2014Radek StepanekLONDON, ENGLAND R. STEPANEK/A. Murray THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. That was a tremendous performance today. When you go on court against Andy, knowing that he's a Wimbledon champion, do you think that lifts you and it will lift other players as well? He's become a bit of a target because of that? RADEK STEPANEK: I think the best ones are always the best targets. Doesn't matter where you play them, but definitely it's special to play on grass in England after his winning, as you said, Wimbledon, he won Olympics here. You know, even here in Queen's he won, so literally he won everything here. Beating him is actually a great win for me. When you play the best ones, you're going to come out with your best. I think that's what I did today. Q. The ball girl? She had a bit of a turn and was taken away. Do you remember that incident? Did that distract you at all? RADEK STEPANEK: I have no clue what happened. What happened? Q.  During the tiebreak she looked a bit ill. RADEK STEPANEK: Sorry, but I was somewhere else. (Laughter.) Q.Where does this rank in terms of victories for you? RADEK STEPANEK: Definitely when you're beating, you know, one of the best four, one of the big four guys, it's always a great achievement you can have. It's always nice to beat one of the best players in the world. Q. Did you feel he was underperforming, or did you feel you were just playing too good? RADEK STEPANEK: I think the quality of tennis was very high. I think I played very aggressive and I was serving pretty well. You know, I think the decider was the tiebreaker. When I was 2‑6 down, I kept fighting till the end. Served a double fault, I don't know what was it, 7‑All, 8‑All, whatever. You know, then played a great rally. Came back. Won the first set and I felt that I was playing pretty well the whole match. Q. How did the pressure of playing Davis Cup and winning Davis Cup, how did that stand you in in good stead for playing these kind of matches? RADEK STEPANEK: It's all about the big matches, and as much as you can play them, the more experience you get, you know, how to handle that mentally, which is the most important thing. You know, I think for these guys playing matches it's like a habit, you know. It's a daily thing for them. As much as I can play these big matches, it's always challenging. And definitely the Davis Cup wins helped me a lot, you know, to deal with the highest pressure. Q. Did you expect to see him playing a little bit more forward than where he was usually six, eight feet behind the baseline? Did you think he'd come in a little bit more on grass? RADEK STEPANEK: You know, the days when we served and volley after first and second serve, those days are gone. As you can see, I'm trying to come to the net as much as I can. Andy's game is different, you know, from how I play. I'd rather see more players, you know, playing on the net, serving and volleying, playing a little bit the old‑style game. But the grass is much slower than it was, and it allows you to play also from the back of the court. You know, everybody plays the game where he feels the best. Q. In Davis Cup, of course when you're behind, your local crowd will really get on your side. It was very quiet out there today. In those circumstances, is that when you think you've done a really good job because you've quietened the crowd down? RADEK STEPANEK: You know, I played in front of a lot of crowds, you know. In Argentina, Davis Cup was one of the loudest I ever played. In Serbia. So, you know, Davis Cup is completely different to a tournament. Obviously, you know, when you play against the home darling, then you're playing well beating him. You're in front, then it's maybe tough to support him or maybe louder ‑‑ if he didn't give them a reason, I don't know. It depends on the situation and how the match goes. I was trying to focus on my game, which I was doing pretty well since the beginning. You know, I enjoyed playing in front of such a crowd. Q. How worried should British tennis fans be about Andy Murray ahead of Wimbledon? RADEK STEPANEK: I don't think they have to be worried. You know, it's definitely the first tournament on grass. Andy was playing, you know, long at Roland Garros. So I think it's coming all together. Now he has 10 days before Wimbledon starts, so, you know, it's the way it is. You have to always face the situation which is on that day. You know, I played I think great tennis, and that's how I wanted it. Q. What is your inspiration? Why do you still love being out here? RADEK STEPANEK: You know, these days all of you are asking me all the time, you know, throwing my age against me. But for me it's only a number. I know what's behind the question. (Laughter.) I know that. You know, it's the love of the game. I'm still happy when I'm on the court like I was five years old. The love is still there. The passion is there. I'm feeling healthy. I'm moving pretty well...for my age. (Laughter.) So, you know, there is nothing ‑‑I'm enjoying every moment of it. You never know when the other moment's gonna come, and I will try to extend that date as long as I can. Q. Is it satisfaction beating younger guys like Murray? RADEK STEPANEK: Definitely it's the biggest motivation beating the young and the best ones. Q. How long have you known Petr Cech? Is he a big tennis fan? RADEK STEPANEK: Yeah, he is. I know him for already eight years. I know for the first time we met was in LA in 2007. So seven years. 2007. I won that tournament when he was there. The whole Chelsea team was there for their preparation. We got very close, you know, and he's a great friend of mine and very important person for me because the way he's, you know, he's dealing with his sport and the way he's preparing. The way he's thinking about his sport is something what also motivates me, what shows me where the little details are making big differences. When I'm seeing him now recovering from his injury, it's amazing. Q. Is he going to be coming back again until Sunday? RADEK STEPANEK: I hope so, you know. He definitely will look after his treatments, his recovery. But I'm very pleased and honored that he finds the time and comes to support me. Q. Talking about people from the Czech Republic, do you know Ivan very well? RADEK STEPANEK: Yes, I do. He was my idol when I was a kid. You know, during the regime we didn't see much in the TV of his matches, but he was an idol. I think he changed our game of tennis in many ways. He proved it even when he came back and coached Andy even for that time. He's an icon for me. Q. During the time Ivan was coaching Andy, did you notice any changes in Andy's game? Were they apparent today? RADEK STEPANEK: You know, they didn't finish their relationship, you know, long time ago, so I think that even when you finish with your coach you have ‑‑it stays with you for quite some time, all the routines or all the things that you have done in the past. It goes with you for some time. You know, definitely he changed his game from the game he had before. I think he helped him mentally a lot, and, you know, those results he had proved everything. I know Ivan. His work is based on hard work, on small things, on the details. That's all what came all together to Andy's great results and Grand Slam winning, you know, and Olympics. Q. Are you surprised he went for Mauresmo as his replacement coach? RADEK STEPANEK: I answered these questions for a couple of days. It's his decision. He has to believe what he's doing. I think throughout his career he went through many things, and, you know, he's the most important one. Whatever we all think, it's nice but he's the one who is dealing with it and who believes it can help him. You know, the rest of I believe his team is supporting that, and, you know, let's see. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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