Stepanek shocks Monfils

Radek Stepanek claimed victory in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic after a 6-4 6-4 win over top seed Gael Monfils in Washington.

Unseeded Stepanek used an aggressive, net-charging style to good effect as the 32-year-old became the tournament's oldest champion since Jimmy Connors in 1988.

The Czech player was successful on 29 of his 39 trips to the net while Monfils, whose semi-final against John Isner ended at 1.15am local time on Sunday morning, stuck to the baseline.

Stepanek did not even face a break point during the match as his opponent, ranked seventh in the world, dropped his serve once in each set.

Stepanek entered the US Open warm-up event ranked 54th but having won six matches and claiming the scalps of three seeded players, he is set to improve his position.

"We are like a wine: the older we are getting, the better we are. It's a great feeling to be able to compete with the young guys and still beat them," Stepanek said.

The defeated Monfils added: "He was very aggressive. It was very tough to impose my game."


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