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12/21/08 1:29 AM | Jonathan Morgan
From 2001 to 2004, Nikolay Davydenko bounced around the challenger and ATP level, making slow progress but eventually getting up to the big time.
Davydenko kicked off 2001 in style, qualifying for both Chennai and the Australian Open. He won his first round and took Patrick Rafter to 4 tough sets in the second round. After returning to Germany, Nikolay reached another challenger semi, losing to Goran Ivanisevic. His rank was up to 109, but at the Dallas challenger in the opening round he had to retire with a lower back and hip injury. He was out for 6 weeks and went 1-7 until the Antwerp challenger in May.
Davydenko rebounded by qualifying for Roland Garros and beating Bjorkman in the first round before getting whipped by Hewitt in the second round. His rank was just outside the top 100 as he kept trying to break through. He won another challenger in Germany, finally cracking the top 100. At this stage in his career, Nikolay was consistently making the quarterfinals and semis of challengers mixed in with first or second round exits at ATP events.
After losing in the first round of the US Open, he came back and won a challenger in Istanbul, qualified for Vienna, and made the quarterfinals in Basel. Davydenko ended the year at #79, up over 50 spots from the start of the year.
In 2002, Davydenko was trying to make the transition from mostly challengers with a few ATP events to mostly ATP events with a few challengers. Unfortunately, Nikolay’s transition was a bit rough.
He went 5-6 to start the year and then decided to play strictly ATP events. Not the best of decisions, as he went 6-14 until Roland Garros, where he lost in the second round. He was 11-20 to start the year, not exactly the start he was looking to get after his 2001. Nikolay went back to challengers after the French, but went a modest 3-3. At Wimbledon he lost in the opening round, and was not looking good. Grass was and still is Davydenko kryptonite.
Davydenko finally stopped the bleeding by making the quarterfinals of the ATP event in Bastad, and made the third round in Kitzbuhel. Right after Kitz, Nikolay made a semifinal run in San Marino, as he finally looked to be regaining some form. At the US Open, he lost 2nd round in 4 good sets to James Blake. In the fall, he won his 4th career challenger title in Szczecin, Poland. Davydenko closed the year going 5-5, including a quarterfinal showing in Vienna, beating Nalbandian and Stepanek. After a rough year, Davydenko closed it strong, and had little to defend for much of 2003.
2003 would end up being Davydenko’s best year ever. Nikolay started off with a bang, winning his first ATP title in Adelaide the first week of the season. His rank jumped up to 61, a career high, but he went 3-4 until early February, including a first round exit at the Australian. Nikolay got his first Davis Cup action in February, beating Radek Stepanek and the Czechs in an away live 5th rubber. Pressure? Davydneko beat him in 5, a bagel in the 5th, to clinch the tie.
After a pair of good wins in San Jose, he went 0-4, including a pair of losses to Nalbandian and Gaudio in Davis Cup. To start the clay season, Davydenko took his second career title in Estoril, his second on the season as well. This title pushed his ranking up to 44, another career high. He backed it up with a quarterfinal run in Barcelona, wins in Munich, Rome, and Hamburg, and a finals run in St. Polten, losing to Roddick on clay in the final. His ranking was up to 33, and faced Hewitt again at the French. This time, the Aussie won in a 4th set tiebreaker, a much closer score than the 3 set drubbing Hewitt gave Nikolay two years prior.
Davydenko had another long string of losses, going 6-18 from Roland Garros until the end of the year. 2004 didn’t start any better, as he went 3-9 to start the year. His ranking dipped to #79. In Miami, he fought Roger Federer to a 7-5 in the third decision, playing very well and almost upsetting the World #1. The 2004 clay season would change things around for Davydenko, as he made a nice quarterfinal run in Monte Carlo, losing to Moya in a well-fought battle. The following week, he won the title in Munich, his 3rd career title, getting back into the top 50, at 49.
He would go 4-8 until the summer clay season, including first round losses in both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Davydenko was up and down all year. He was showing signs of great play, but just couldn’t keep it up. His ranking dropped to 63, but he made a semifinal run in Stuttgart, bumping it back up to 51. The rollercoaster continued when he went 1-3 until Long Island, where he won 2 matches, and made the third round at the US Open, his career best slam showing. The rank was up to 44, the highest all year.
Nikolay went 3-3 in various events before winning his 4th career title, winning his last 3 matches in tough 3 setters against Stepanek, Youzhny, and Rusedski. He had to save match point against Youzhny, and 3 match points against Rusedski to take the title. The rollercoaster ended with a 3-3 indoor run to close the year. 2004 was an extremely up and down year for Davydenko, but he ended it at #28 in the world, having won 2 ATP titles.
2004 was a wild year, but 2005 would thrust Davydenko into the top 10.
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