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  • Davydenko aims to continue good New York record

    8/29/08 12:34 AM | David Cox
    - He's world no 5 but Davydenko remains very much the forgotten man at the top of the ladder in men's tennis. After a scorching week which landed him the Miami title in April, the Russian's season has gone progressively downhill

    When picking players to make the last 4 or beyond at this year's US Open, Davydenko makes very few lists. However the Russian has a habit of confounding the odds in New York and after reaching the semis for the past 2 years you can't argue with his record. Both times Federer has blocked the path to glory though and the Swiss remains a slam nemisis having halted Davydenko's progress at the same stage in Melbourne and Paris.

    He rarely does well in the summer masters series and 2008 proved no exception, Davydenko crashing out in the early stages to Kiefer (4-6, 6-4, 6-4) and Moya (7-6, 4-6, 6-2)

    Round 1 was a suitably gentle opener, Dudi Sela providing a light 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 workout. The Israeli is talented with great hands but lacks the weight of shot to become a top 50 player.

    Calleri should be much more of a hurdle, the Argentine has a single-handed backhand to be reckoned with and strikes a tennis ball with racket-juddering power. He served 17 aces on the way to a 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 1st round win over young American wildcard Austin Krajicek.

    However his style plays into Davydenko's hands, the Russian loves to sit back and counter-punch the likes of Calleri into error and he's never dropped a set in 4 wins over the Argentine, the most recent coming in the 2006 New Haven final

    Verdict: Davydenko in 3 but a little closer than the win over Sela

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