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  • Indian Wells Third Round: Nikolay Davydenko vs. Mardy Fish

    3/17/08 6:27 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Nikolay Davydenko has already eliminated one big-serving American and now he is set to take on another in Mardy Fish. It should be interesting clash of styles once again in this third-round matchup at the Pacific Life Open.

    Nikolay Davydenko and Mardy Fish are scheduled to square off on Tuesday in Indian Wells and it will be the second time the two players have met head-to-head. The Russian holds a 1-0 edge, having dispatched Fish 6-4, 7-5 at the 2006 Masters Series event in Miami.

    Neither player has done anything particularly positive or negative to distinguish himself since that first meeting. The fourth-seeded Davydenko continues to be his ever-solid, if unspectacular, self and his 2008 campaign has begun in typical Davydenko fashion. In other words, the Russian has done well in every event he's played, but he has not been able to achieve that one big breakthrough. Davydenko reached the semifinals in Doha (lost to Andy Murray), made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open (lost to Mikhail Youzhny), and eased his way into the semifinals of last week's event in Dubai (lost to Feliciano Lopez). In the second round of the Pacific Life Open on Sunday he took care of 6'9'' American John Isner 6-2, 7-6(3).

    Fish got all the way up to No. 22 in the world rankings last March, but a dismal summer stretch and a fall season that wasn't much better has left him with a current standing of 98th. The American is beginning to turn things around, however, in 2008. He reached the third round of the Australian Open and promptly followed that up with quarterfinal appearances in both Delray Beach and San Jose. So far this week Fish has handled Florian Mayer and 31st-seeded Igor Andreev without dropping a set.

    For Davydenko, Fish presents a similar challenge to the one Isner brought in round one. While Ivo Karlovic is really the only player who can be compared to Isner, Fish is more similar to the big man than most. He can serve huge at times and loves to get points finished quickly with big forehands. Fish is capable from the back of the court and moves mildly well, but not great. Davydenko should enjoy a massive advantage from the baseline and therefore Fish's serve will have to be in rare form if he does not want to go the same way as Isner.

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