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8/2/09 5:21 AM | Ricky Dimon
Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nikolay Davydenko will face each other in the Croatia Open final on Sunday. Davydenko is looking for his second title in as many weeks.
Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nikolay Davydenko will be meeting for the fifth time in their careers on Sunday when they do battle for the Studena Croatia Open title. Their head-to-head series is all tied up at two apiece, although Davydenko leads it 2-1 on clay and his won two in-a-row. Davydenko prevailed 7-5, 6-2 in the Estoril second round earlier this season.
A resurgent Ferrero, however, is playing the kind of tennis that is making revenge look like a real possibility. The former world No. 1, who is now 29 years old, briefly fell out of the Top 100, but he is back to No. 36 in the ATP rankings. Ferrero owns an outstanding 26-11 match record for the year, including a surprise quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon and semifinal showing at Queen's Club in addition to a title in Casablanca. The Spaniard is maintaining the momentum this week having ousted Christophe Rochus, Potito Starace, Maximo Gonzalez, and No. 7 seed Andreas Seppi (7-5 in the third).
Davydenko is every bit as hot as Ferrero at the moment. After being plagued by injuries throughout his 2009 campaign, the 28-year-old Russian is coming off a title at the 500-point event in Hamburg. Now in Umag he has not lost a single set en route to the title match. He dispatched Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Alberto Martin, and Simone Bolelli, then in the semis he routed No. 4 seed Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-1 in 50 minutes. Davydenko, who is back inside the Top 10 at No. 9 in the world, owns a stellar 29-8 match record for the season.
While Ferrero is in extraordinary form, Davydenko is playing even better tennis right now. So good was Davydenko on Saturday that Melzer was literally laughing by the end of the match. Although an upset pick is tempting, it's scary given the top seed's current level. Look for Davydenko to prevail in two highly-competitive sets.
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Me too, I'd like Ferrero to prevail. Davydenko is a very tough player to beat but Ferrero has the game to neutralize it.
In any case, it ought to be a great match.
Shireling , 8/2/09 12:45 PM
Davydenko all the way for me. He dismantled Melzer completely yesterday while Ferrero had a tough marathon match with Seppi, who is a decent clay courter by all means but no where near a Davydenko on fire. Should be awesome to watch, similar styles of play and very quick feet on both.
derstatic , 8/2/09 1:03 PM
I was hoping to see these two in the final ... really great to see Davydenko doing well and building back some of his lost confidence from his injuries earlier this year. I think he will take it, but it should be a good fight.
smr , 8/2/09 2:30 PM
Davydenko beat the crap out of the Mosquito!
Oh well... the best player won - on to the next one JC
Shireling , 8/2/09 9:44 PM
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I wouldn't go against Davy with this match either, but I thought he was brilliant at the French before his lose to Soderling so...I he really step on the brake out of nowhere. However, I didn't see the dismantling of Melzer, but it is hard to look at the scoreline and say Ferrero. I like the old guy though, so I hope he can pull through.
Recordbreaks , 8/2/09 5:39 AM