Nikolay Davydenko proved his victory over Roger Federer last year was no fluke by beating the world No. 1 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to reach the Qatar Open final.
The Russian third seed, who beat the Swiss for the first time in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals in November, repeated the feat to progress to the final where he will face world No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
“I’d beaten him once, so I knew I could beat him again. Then I thought, why not this time? I concentrated more on baseline and serves,” Davydenko, who has lost 12 times to Federer, told a news conference. “In the second set, it was getting tougher as both of us were tired and couldn’t run fast. It was a difficult situation, but fortune favored me. I think my serve has improved lately.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Federer committed 37 unforced errors and had no answer to many of the world No. 6’s powerful cross-court shots.
“He deserved the lead, held it and finished the game. Hats off to him. It isn’t that I played too badly, but he played better,” Federer said. “I like to come to Doha every year. I’m excited to go to Australia too and I need some rest before the year’s first Slam [this month’s Australian Open].”
Unlike Federer, Spain’s Nadal stuck to the script and defeated Serbian fifth seed Viktor Troicki 6-1, 6-3.
PHOTO: EPA
“It’s very important to reach the final. That shows my preparations for the title defense in Australia are right on track,” Nadal said. “I had the match under my control right from the beginning. After the first two games, my confidence grew, and my serve and volley were better. Since there were more people around to witness the action, I had more motivation. An easy victory against Viktor has boosted my confidence.”
Davydenko said he would try to stay focused in the final.
“Both Rafa and I are basically baseline players. He’s going to play much stronger and harder, so I’ll have to focus more on my game,” the Russian said. “It will all depend on how long I can hold him.”
■BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL
REUTERS, SYDNEY
Andy Roddick of the US recovered from a slow start to beat Tomas Berdych 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 yesterday and join defending champion Radek Stepanek in the men’s singles final at the Brisbane International.
Stepanek had earlier cruised into today’s championship decider with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Frenchman Gael Monfils, but Roddick was made to work much harder to prevent an all-Czech final.
“I didn’t feel I played that badly in the first set, he just started so well,” Roddick said. “The biggest part of the match for me was the first few games of the second set. I just wanted to make sure I stopped his momentum.”
Berdych raced through the opening set in just 34 minutes after twice breaking Roddick’s serve, but failed to achieve the feat again for the remainder of the contest.
Roddick took the second with an early break, then broke Berdych again late in the third before serving out the match after more than two hours on the Pat Rafter center court.
“I like to confuse and conquer sometimes,” Roddick said.
Stepanek needed just an hour to book his place in the final after Monfils was troubled by a shoulder problem.
The Frenchman went into the match with his right shoulder heavily strapped and said he was worried about aggravating the injury ahead of the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne on Jan. 18.
“Before the match, I decided not to kill my shoulder,” Monfils said. “It has been 10 days of pain now. Maybe I need two or three days off without tennis, hopefully it will be much better.”
Stepanek, now in his 15th season on the professional tour, had little sympathy for the Frenchman’s woes.
“Everybody has small issues every week and in our first tournament already people are receiving treatment,” the Czech said. “I think I also broke him mentally. Mental toughness, that’s 80 percent of the game. I am experienced, physically fit and playing a different game to the others, that is my advantage.”
■CHENNAI OPEN
REUTERS, CHENNAI, INDIA
Holder Marin Cilic of Croatia and Swiss third seed Stanislas Wawrinka progressed to the Chennai Open semi-finals on Friday.
World No. 14 Cilic overcame Colombian Santiago Giraldo 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 in 1 hour, 38 minutes, while Olympic doubles gold medalist Wawrinka took almost two hours to beat German Michael Berrer 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 after rain delayed the start of the matches.
Second seed Cilic will meet Serbian fourth seed Janko Tipsarevic, while world No. 21 Wawrinka takes on Israeli fifth seed Dudi Sela.
Cilic recovered from 4-1 down in the first set against Giraldo to win the tie-break 7-3.
The big-serving 21-year-old then made quick work of his opponent in the second.
“They were tough conditions today as it’s so humid,” Cilic told reporters. “My serve improved as the match progressed and I started to get more balls in court. Obviously, the tie-break was the crucial point of the match.”
Wawrinka was stretched in the opening set by the free-flowing Berrer, ranked 74 in the world.
The left-handed German came back from a break down at 4-2 as he unleashed a series of aggressive forehand winners to force the opening set into a tie-break, which Wawrinka clinched 7-5.
The Swiss took a grip of the second set after breaking Berrer in the seventh game, before serving out the match.
“I played a good tie-break in the first set and I managed to hold on in the second,” Wawrinka said. “I’m really happy to get to a semi-final in my first week of the year.”
Tipsarevic beat Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 7-5, 7-5, while Sela got past Slovakian Lukas Lacko 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 in the other quarter-final matches.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS