02/06 - Roland-Garros : "The outcast"

SPORTS / TENNIS : ROLAND-GARROS / "Un Autre Regard" by Nicolas Rey / 02/06 - Roland-Garros : "The outcast"

Friday, May 29, 2009, Radek Štěpánek, the UFO of this tournament (ATP ranking: 19), wound up facing a particularly harsh reality: the Croatian Marin Čilić. A Spanish kind of Croatian. A wall of clay. You're going to tell me this is already ancient history, but this guy still haunts my dreams.Štěpánek was thrashed in three sets by this giant (6ft 6in in his tennis socks). Too bad. We liked Radek Štěpánek. First, because he likes to be disliked. That's a refreshing change of pace in this pH-neutral corner of the sports world. Second, Štěpánek excels in one of the most stupefying gestures on the tour: the drop shot. God how I love the drop shot. The drop shot is the tennis equivalent of the Panenka penalty kick. I also like Štěpánek's perfect forehand and limpid, almost nonchalant volley. In this world of brute force, our man is the exception. Last of all, he proves to be exceptional in answering questions. He never stonewalls. In France's Libération newspaper, he declared, "I play differently than 95 or 99 percent of other players. I don't just keep running behind the baseline to return the ball." At this point I close my eyes and imagine, for 30 seconds, the faces of the two Fernandos (Gonzalez and Verdasco), and especially the poor Terminator: Rafael Nadal.After only a couple of days at Roland Garros stadium Radek Štěpánek packed up his shaving kit and his book of John McEnroe poems. Wearing a smile that was equal parts sardonic and disillusioned, he turned in his room key. After his French Open performance he's leaving the country with a lot of new friends in his camp.Not like he cares. Given Štěpánek's nasty disposition, new friends probably don't matter much to him.We, on the other hand, are a bit sad to see him go. — Nicolas Rey