12 January,2009 08:45 AM IST | | Agencies
The Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek came from a set down to upset second seed Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Brisbane International tennis tournament yesterday.
It was the third match in a row that Stepanek had to recover from a first set deficit to defeat a higher-ranked opponent. Stepanek lifted his serve in the second two sets and began to pressure Verdasco, not letting him establish any rhythm.
He used the drop shot with great effect, bringing Verdasco forward at almost every opportunity.
"Part of the game plan today was to move him around the court and it worked pretty well," the 30-year-old Stepanek said.
"Since I was young I've loved to play drop shots and move people around the court. I've been destroying the rhythm of my opponents since I was a kid and I'm still doing that today."
