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  • Poertschach Final: Nikolay Davydenko vs. Juan Monaco

    5/23/08 7:36 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the Poertschach final, as top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko takes on defending champion Juan Monaco. The winner will ride a wave of momentum into Roland Garros.

    Call this an awesome appetizer to the main course.

    With the French Open just days away, tennis fans could not ask for a better final match to bring an end to a rainy week in Poertschach, Austria. No. 1 seed and fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko will take on second-seeded and Poertschach defending champion Juan Monaco on Friday afternoon. It will be the third career meeting between the two players and their head-to-head series is knotted at one apiece. Davydenko won a three-set battle in Sopot, Poland back in 2006, but Monaco got revenge last year in the quarterfinals of this very same Poertschach event. Both previous encounters were also contested on clay.

    Davydenko has a few things going for him as he enters this marquee title matchup. First, he is in rare form this season, having won the biggest title of his career at the Masters Series Miami, making it to the final in Estoril, and reaching the semifinals of three other events. The Russian also boasts a solid 13-4 record on clay in 2008, including his four wins this week. He crushed Rainer Eitzinger in round one before knocking out both John Isner and Andreas Seppi in three-set battles on Thursday. Davydenko's other big advantage entering Saturday is that he spent very little time or energy in a straight-set semifinal destruction of countryman Igor Kunitsyn on Friday.

    Monaco, on the other hand, endured a far greater semifinal test. The Argentine outlasted No. 3 seed Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(4), saving three match points in match that lasted almost three hours. Monaco previously eased past Carlos Berlocq and Jiri Vanek in his first two matches, then outdueled Robby Ginepri 7-5, 7-6(3) in the quarterfinals. This week is continuing Monaco's stellar--but unspectacular--clay-court record in 2008 that includes a runner-up performance in Vina Del Mar (injury prevented him from contesting the final) and a quarterfinal appearance in Valencia.

    Monaco will be brimming with confidence, having pulled off the huge win over Ljubicic and having won the title in Poertschach one year ago. Taking out Davydenko en route to that title also has to leave Monaco feeling good. That swagger, however, might not be enough to overcome an in-form Davydenko. Look for a high-quality, spirited affair to end with Monaco running out of gas late in the third set.

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