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  • Monte-Carlo Quarterfinal: Igor Andreev vs. Nikolay Davydenko

    4/24/08 8:28 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Igor Andreev has already survived two all-Russian duels in Monte-Carlo, and he'll have to get through another one if he wants to make the semifinals. Up next is the top Russian of them all, Nikolay Davydenko.

    Fellow Russians Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko will square of in a Masters-Series Monte Carlo quarterfinal showdown on Friday. It will be just their third-ever head-to-head meeting and the series is tied up at one apiece. Andreev, however, holds a 1-0 edge on clay, but that meeting came way back in 2003.

    Even though Andreev is unseeded and Davydenk is No. 4 in both seeding and ranking, this one seems like a toss-up because Andreev has simply been on fire recently. It's not surprising Andreev is enjoying success on clay because he has always felt right at home on the dirt, but he even enjoyed some nice results on the hard courts earlier this season. Currently ranked 32nd in the world, Andreev reached the third round of the Australian Open, the quarterfinals in Dubai, and most impressively the quarterfinals of the Masters Series Miami. If he can do all that on a surface that he doesn't particularly love, there's no telling how successful he can be during this clay-court swing. Andreev is certainly off to a good start on the slow stuff, having taken out compatriots Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny before overcoming clay-court wizard Nicolas Almagro in a third-round three-set thriller.

    He'll have to keep up the extremely high level if he wants to reach the semifinals, because Davydenko is in stunning form at the moment. Davydenko stormed to an unlikely title at the Masters Series Miami last month, upsetting Andy Roddick in the semifinals before crushing Rafael Nadal in the final. He brought the momentum with him over to the clay courts last week in Estoril, where he reached the final, only to retire there in his match against Roger Federer. So far in Monte-Carlo, Davydenko has topped Simone Bolelli 6-2, 7-6(5) and battled back from the brink of defeat to shock Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

    If Andreev serves like he did in the first set against Almagro, he can pull off this upset. His heavy topspin forehand should also give Davydenko some problems because Davydenko is small (unless you're a Rochus brother) and does not fare will with balls at shoulder height. The good news for Davydenko, however, is that he is a master of taking balls on the rise before they get to their highest points. This showdown should go three sets, but other than that it's too close to call.

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