So Nikolay Davydenko just got beaten by some dude called Pablo Cuevas. I suppose I've vaguely heard of Cuevas, but I couldn't tell you jack about him. I can tell you something about Nikolay Davydenko, however, and it's that 2010 is not shaping up to be like 2009. Not even close.
Remember this time last year, when Davydenko was kicking arse and taking names and generally pretty much winning everything? ...um, yeah, it's not like that this year. This year, he's the one that's getting his arse kicked and his name taken. I'm not sure where he is in the line for qualification for the world tour finals, but considering the results he's had this year, I can't really imagine he's high up the list...
It's a sad story. Kolya is simultaneously cardboardy and totally charming and likeable. His game is sort of watchable, when he isn't playing awfully (remember Davydenko vs Verdasco at the Australian this year)? But it's been a year of pretty much fat nothing for him. Ever since Federer took him and snapped him at the Open, he's not been the same.
For a guy who supposedly hasn't had a good year, Federer's done a lot of psychological damage this year. At the Australian Open, he managed to slay both Andy Murray and Davydenko. The Murray thing's been discussed a lot but the Davydenko thing has been underestimated. I don't want it to be true, but I think we might have seen the best of Kolya. He burned very, very bright at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. I'm really hoping he hasn't burned himself out.
Thank you.
2 years ago
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2 comments:
Don't forget, though, that he fractured his wrist in Spring. Plus, because it was misdiagnosed, he played on it too long, surely making matters worse. He's not been the same since that injury, more than since AO.
And kind of along the lines of what Evie's saying, he should've taken more time off. For the life of me, I can't understand why he returned to the tour at Wimbledon with grass being, by far, the worst surface for him.
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