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4/4/08 2:06 AM | David Cox
Nicolay Davydenko booked his place in the Miami semis for the first time after a near flawless performance brushed aside Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour.
Such was Davydenko’s dominance that Tipsarevic won just five points on second serve in the entire match. The Serb paid the price for making only 51% first serves, such an integral part of his game and the lack of cheap points really hurt him. Davydenko broke to go 3-1 up and he was barely troubled after that. A brief show of resilience from the Serb earned him a break back point at 2-4 but a cheap error cost him, something you really can’t afford to do against Davydenko on a big point as you know he’s just going to stay in the rally and give you absolutely nothing. Soon the 4th seed was 5-2 up and 0-40 on the Tipsarevic serve and he needed just 1 set point.
It was the same story in set two, with Davydenko breaking for 2-0 and then again to lead 4-0. Tipsarevic was virtually just playing for pride by then and a brief flurry of winners got him one of the breaks back. But at 6-2, 4-1 down, a comeback was very unlikely and the Russian snuffed out any hopes the Serb’s large courtside support group may have had, breaking immediately again for 5-1 before serving it out.
Ok so a disappointing match in the end entertainment-wise, given the fair share of thrillers we’ve been treated to this week. Maybe Tipsarevic was slightly overawed, this was undoubtedly one of the biggest matches of his career and he didn’t turn up with his A game. However Davydenko does have to take a huge amount of credit for his performance, he was brilliant out there, dictating all the points from the word go, he didn’t give Tipsarevic a glimmer of hope for getting back in the match. It was a tricky matchup for Tipsarevic, as he needs a little more variety to trouble players as solid as Davydenko; developing a backhand slice and improving his volleys would be a big step forwards.
Davydenko hasn't made a Masters Series final since Paris 2006, his first big title. Although he'll be the underdog against either Federer or Roddick, a showing like this will give him every chance against either player.
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homos, Dec 3, 2008 9:09 AM
RickyDimon, Dec 3, 2008 5:21 AM
Navratilovastillplay, Dec 3, 2008 12:32 AM
tennisgirl, Dec 1, 2008 11:48 PM
lendl, Dec 1, 2008 6:17 PM
Navratilovastillplay, Dec 3, 2008 1:32 AM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 8:23 PM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 8:02 PM
Nikolay Davydenko
Janko Tipsarevic
Sony Ericsson Open
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