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  • Estoril final preview: Federer vs. Davydenko

    4/20/08 5:13 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - The number one and two tournament seeds clash in the final as Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko take the court on Sunday. Federer searches for his first title of the year, Davydenko will be looking to get his first win ever over Federer.

    Roger Federer has beaten Nikolay Davydenko eleven times in a row. In fact, Davydenko has never beaten the world number one. They've played on hard courts, carpet and clay since 2002, and the Russian has only managed to ever take three sets in all of those tries. At any other time, a Federer victory would be considered nearly a lock. But not this time.

    Roger Federer is, to put it frankly, struggling this year. He lost a set to Olivier Rochus in the first round, another set to a Portuguese wild card named Frederico Gil and was actually “in trouble” in the semifinals against Denis Gremelmayr. Sunday will mark the first time in 2008 that Roger Federer makes a final. He has had unusual losses to players like Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick.

    Nikolay Davydenko has never had a better opportunity to get a win over Federer. His own season is the best he's ever enjoyed. He won a Masters shield for the first time in Miami a couple weeks ago. He still enjoys good form. He beat his semi-final opponent, Florent Serra 6-2, 6-2. Davydenko for the big upset in two.

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