Stepanek out of Davis Cup due to flu

Radek Stepanek from the Czech Republic has been ruled out of the opening round of the Davis Cup against Kazakhstan after pulling out of a tournament due to illness.

Stepanek, who withdrew from this week's Delray Beach International Tennis Championships due to the flu, still has a fever and won't be able to recover for the best-of-five series on March 4-6 in Ostrava.

The loss is a blow for the Czechs because Stepanek has been expected to play singles and doubles, along with seventh-ranked Tomas Berdych.

Team spokesman Karel Tejkal says captain Jaroslav Navratil has called up doubles specialist Lukas Dlouhy to the team.

Tejkal says Jan Hajek, who withdrew from a match after feeling sick on Tuesday, is ready to play.

Jiri Vesely is also on the team.