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3/8/09 6:40 PM | Ricky Dimon
Radek Stepanek defeats Gilles Simon in straight sets on Sunday afternoon. The victory sends the Czech Republic over France and into the Davis Cup quarterfinals.
Radek Stepanek beat Gilles Simon 7-6(3), 6-3, 7-6(0) in the fourth rubber on Sunday afternoon to give the Czech Republic a first-round Davis Cup victory over visiting France. Stepanek needed two hours and 35 minutes to set up a quarterfinal showdown with 2008 runner-up Argentina.
The 30-year-old Czech was the better player throughout even though two sets went to tiebreakers. Simon saved three break points early in the opening frame of play but did not get a single look against his opponent's serve as a Stepanek eventually prevailed seven points to three in a 'breaker.
With momentum in hand and a rowdy pro-Czech crowd behind him, Stepanek dominated the second set. His second break of serve finished it off 6-3 and he dropped a mere five points in four service games.
Simon, ranked 10 spots ahead of Stepanek at No. 8 in the world, finally secured a break in set three, but Stepanek also seized another break en route to a tiebreaker. On the fast hard courts of Ostrava, Stepanek's serve continued dictate the proceedings and he won the decider in even easier fashion than he took the first one. The Frenchman did not even win a single point.
Stepanek fired 10 aces and won 82 percent of his first-serve points, while an uncharacteristically erratic Simon sprayed 42 unforced errors.
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