Davydenko upstages Del Potro to land London crown

Published on Sunday 29 November 2009 21:48

THERE is nothing better in tennis than winning one of the Grand Slams, but if you can't do that, defeating the holders of all four of those titles has to be the next best thing. Nikolay Davydenko, who had already disposed of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the earlier stages of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, completed that feat yesterday with a 6-3, 6-4 final victory over US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.

It was an easier than expected win for the Russian at the end of a tournament in which only four out of the 14 previous matches had been decided in straight sets. Del Potro was unable to replicate the standard he had shown against Wimbledon champion Federer in the round-robin stages, and towards the end of the second set was showing the effects of having played in the later of Saturday's two semi-finals.

Even so, Davydenko had to work hard for his win, and maintained a high level of consistency right to the end. He served more consistently, returned exceptionally well, and showed the tactical acuteness to keep his far larger opponent on the move.

The Russian, who beat Australian Open champion Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Group B before defeating Federer for the first time in 13 meetings in the semi-finals, took a decisive lead in the fifth game of the first set. He got himself into trouble in the seventh game with a double fault which gave Del Potro a break point, but he was able to serve his way out of it.

In the second set it was the Argentine who had his serve to thank for escaping from some scrapes, but his touch deserted him in the ninth game, by which time his tiredness was beginning to restrict his mobility. Serving for the match, Davydenko made no mistake, maintaining the focus which he said was the key to his success.

"I was coming in from the first point with 100 per cent concentration," he said. "All five matches here, first it was very good concentration."

The result was good news for Andy Murray, as a victory for Del Potro would have seen the Argentine oust the Scot from the No 4 slot in the rankings. Still, although he has held on to his position for the moment, Murray is now only 245 points ahead, and that gap could disappear in the early weeks of the New Year.

Replacing Murray is only the immediate target for the US Open winner who has been tipped by former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash as a future world No 1. However, he believes he has a long, hard fight ahead of him if he is to reach that goal.

"It's flattering to hear that from a great player like him, and I have faith in the people working with me day by day to help me improve. But it's a long road. I have to keep working. I have many things to improve: my serve, my forehand... My goal is I'm going to feel better with this part of the game so I can be in a better position. But I have very good players fighting with me, like Murray, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal."

Since winning his first Grand Slam, Del Potro has been portrayed as a greater threat to Murray than the Scot is to the three players above him. Certainly, his physical power can be intimidating, and his victory at Flushing Meadows ignited the debate about the aggression – or lack of it – in Murray's game.

Yet Murray got the better of the South American here in the first match of the tournament, and yesterday's win for the slightly built Davydenko was a vindication for those who contend that you can still win tennis tournaments by playing intelligently and when required with delicacy, rather than by bludgeoning the ball at every opportunity. Still, when asked if he thought he could build on this victory and go on to win Grand Slams, the Russian made the obvious point that winning competitions that are best-of-five-set matches is more demanding than those such as this tournament which are best of three.

"If Grand Slams come to best of three sets, yes, I enjoy winning Grand Slams, maybe every one, because in three sets winning matches is easy. I know Del Potro was strong. I beat him in tennis. For sure I was playing much better. But I know Del Potro can play first, second set, and third and fourth and fifth, and really have good power. That was maybe how he beat Federer in the final of the US Open. I need to have very good physical preparation for the five-set matches in Australia (where the next Grand Slam takes place in January]. You need to run not like two hours: you need to run for four hours."

Davydenko did not even need to run for two hours yesterday, claiming victory in under an hour and a half. And, at the same time as winning the Masters Cup trophy and just over $1.5 million in prize money, this engagingly modest man also captured the affection of many tennis fans who had previously thought of him as dour and uninspiring.

At 28 he is not far from the age at which modern players are regarded as veterans. Even so, on the evidence of the past week, his best years may yet be ahead of him.