Štěpánek began the 2011 season with a third successive appearance at the 2011 Brisbane International, hoping for a third successive finals appearance, despite only being ranked no. 62. For the first round he was drawn against world no. 67, German Tobias Kamke. Despite struggling for the first set, he eventually won, 5–7, 6–1, 6–4, to set up a second-round match against Mardy Fish, the fourth seed in the tournament. Štěpánek blazed through the match, thrashing the world no. 16 Fish, 6–3, 6–1. In the quarterfinals against seventh seed and world no. 37 Florian Mayer, he had a dominant start, leading 5–1 in the first set, before Mayer managed to break his serve. However, he continued his winning streak, emerging victorious, 6–3, 6–3, to place himself in the first semifinal against Robin Söderling, where he lost.
