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2/21/08 6:38 PM | Ricky Dimon
In an ADN AMRO World Tennis Tournament marked by a flurry of upsets, Michael Llodra keeps the trend going with a surprising victory over second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko on Thursday afternoon in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Michael Llodra and Nikolay Davydenko had played each other four times prior to this second-round meeting in Rotterdam. Not only had Davydenko rolled over Llodra in all four contests, but he even boasted a perfect 10-0 record in sets.
He is perfect no longer. Llodra put on an outstanding display of tennis to make amends for his previous losses to Davydenko, taking out the Russian 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Llodra sent a message early and often with both his serve and his return that things were going to be different between the two players this time around. He broke the weak-serving Davydenko twice in the first set to eventually take it 6-3. The Frenchman was not about to let Davydenko back in the match in the early stages of the second set, as he lost just six points in his first five service games of the second frame. Davydenko, however, picked up his serving as the set progressed to 5-5. Llodra then seized the key moment in the match, taking advantage of his first break-point opportunity of the game to give him a 6-5 advantage.
But it suddenly looked like the pressure of serving it out would be too much for Llodra to handle. He got down 0-40, giving the Russian three break-point chances to send the second set into a tiebreaker. Llodra, however, delivered some clutch serves as Davydenko's normally-solid return failed him to the tune of missing four returns in-a-row. That allowed the underdog to take the game and the match.
While Llodra deserves credit for dictating play with his aggressive net-charging style, the story of this match was the ineffectiveness of Davydenko. That the Russian's serve let him down could only have been expected, but surprisingly, Davydenko looked out of rhythm with his passing shots, often one of the strengths of his game.
Llodra handled the pressure moments incredibly well, converting all three of break point chances and coming back from 0-40 down in the final game
Davydenko lost serve twice in the first set despite missing just two first serves
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Did you know that... Michael Llodra is famous among other ATP players for his practical jokes.
posmatrac, Aug 29, 2008 6:03 AM
agf25agf, Aug 28, 2008 1:21 PM
tenstar, Aug 28, 2008 11:06 AM
ed251137, Aug 28, 2008 9:39 AM
cherylmurray, Aug 27, 2008 3:10 PM
RocketQueen, Aug 29, 2008 5:37 AM
DejaBlue, Aug 28, 2008 7:05 PM
dusko82, Aug 28, 2008 11:33 AM
Did you know that... Juan Monaco’s favorite film is Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe.
posmatrac, Aug 29, 2008 6:03 AM
agf25agf, Aug 28, 2008 1:21 PM
tenstar, Aug 28, 2008 11:06 AM
ed251137, Aug 28, 2008 9:39 AM
cherylmurray, Aug 27, 2008 3:10 PM
RocketQueen, Aug 29, 2008 5:37 AM
DejaBlue, Aug 28, 2008 7:05 PM
dusko82, Aug 28, 2008 11:33 AM
Michael Llodra
Nikolay Davydenko
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
