Old boy Stepanek ready to take on Murray at Roland Garros

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  • Murray and Stepanek (r) will face off at Roland Garros.

    When Andy Murray found out he was playing a qualifier in his French Open first round, he half-expected to be facing a grand slam rookie, at least someone lacking experience at majors.

    Instead, he got 37-year-old Radek Stepanek, a man making his 13th appearance in the Roland Garros singles main draw, and who just three weeks ago took a set off the British world No2 at the Madrid Masters.

    For a player who turned pro 20 years ago and peaked at No8 in the world ten years later, Stepanek has been forced to get back to basics in Paris as he battled through three qualifying rounds to earn his shot at Murray. The last time he played ‘qualies’ at Roland Garros was 2002.

    Clawing his way back up the rankings following a sciatica nerve problem that saw him plummet to No367 in the world last July, Stepanek is the oldest man in the draw and is contesting his 52nd grand slam.

    “They asked me ‘you still want to play qualies at your age after you’ve been at the top and stuff?’ But the love for the game is there no matter where I’m standing or what the number of my ranking is,” said Stepanek, who is now No129 in the world.

    “I had been out for eight months so I’m very pleased for every minute I can spend on the court. My situation 12 months ago wasn’t good and now I’m sitting here with you and talking about qualifying for a slam again.

    “So I’m very pleased for that and as long as I stay healthy, I always say ‘when the hardware is good, the software is there’.”

    Stepanek, who takes on Murray on Monday, says the sciatica issue saw him lose 50 per cent of the muscles in his right leg within a two-week period.

    Last year, the Czech, known for his flamboyant – and often questionable – fashion sense on court and his multiple romances with WTA players off it, became the oldest man to win a match atRoland Garros since a 38-year-old Jimmy Connors in 1991.

    “The challenge is to be older than Jimmy Connors and play in a slam. He was 38? Oh it’s not that far, it’s just around the corner,” Stepanek says with a laugh.

    “I love everything that comes with tennis, atmosphere, fans, emotions. You can play the same opponent seven days in a row but every match is going to be different and that’s what I like about it.”

    Never a player who relied on big groundstrokes or a huge serve, Stepanek has troubled many top players with his variety in the past, including Murray.

    Stepanek trails the Scot 2-6 head-to-head, but they’ve split their last two meetings – Murray at Queen’s in 2014, before avenging that loss in Madrid earlier this month.

    “Obviously there were better draws than this one but that’s how it is. You can’t choose, you have to get ready for what’s next,” added Stepanek.

    “We had a tough battle a couple of weeks ago so definitely I’ll use that match as a way to show me what I have to do. It’s also grand slam tennis, best-of-five, so it’s going to be physically a tough match.

    “The conditions in Madrid are very specific, it’s high altitude, the balls are flying. But his improvement on clay in the last two years was tremendous I think and his recent results are proof of that.”

    After capturing his first clay title in Munich last year, Murray has quickly developed into a great dirtballer, with Masters 1000 titles in Madrid in 2015 and Rome earlier this year. He is a three-time semi-finalist at Roland Garros and is considered Novak Djokovic’s biggest threat this fortnight.

    The 29-year-old recently parted ways with his coach, former French world No1 Amelie Mauresmo, and is relying on Jamie Delgado in Paris, who initially joined the team as an assistant coach.

    Murray says he has not yet sought out anyone to replace Mauresmo and is happy with the current set-up for the time being, especially considering he has gone 12-2 on clay leading up to the French Open.

    “Obviously with the way that everything went in Rome and Madrid, things are going well just now, so no need to sort of rush into anything. I’m happy with the work I have done with Jamie so far,” said Murray.

    “I enjoy working with him. He’s a very good people person. He’s pretty calm, relaxed. On top of that very, very experienced around the tour.”

    Djokovic commences his assault on a maiden French Open crown on Tueday against world No100 Lu Yen-Hsun of Taipei.

    Arab No1 Malek Jaziri is also in action as he faces Germany’s Florian Mayer.

    On the women’s side, Serena Williams will begin her title defence against Magdalena Rybarikova on Tuesday.

    The American world No1 combated a cold last in Paris last year, with five of her seven matches going the distance.

    “If that happens again I’m not sure I can get through that again. I’m like okay, every night I have this programme. Make sure I have my vitamins and just be healthy,” she said ahead of her opening clash.

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