Davydenko was in the peak of his career here. Beat Nadal in Shanghai, beat Federer in London and won the YEC, then got another win over Federer just before this and was a serious contender in this Sam before this topsy-turvy match.
2010 could've been the year of Davydenko and Del Potro if it wasn't for those damn wrist injuries, they both ended 2009 in a stellar way and owned everyone. At least Delpo managed to come back but Niko was really a pleasure to watch in his good days
Yeah, very unfortunate. DelPo needed wrist surgery, and Davydenko actually fractured his wrist in Rotterdam, but kept playing on. And couple those losses with the loss of Soderling to mono in the summer of 2011. If these guys were all able to have stayed healthy, the entire landscape of the ATP would have been different. Such a shame.
I do miss Davydenko on court. Such pleasant personality. Love the smiles they gave each other at the exchange. He is humble, diligent and plays good tennis.
I don't understand what happened with Davydenko in this match. He was in the best moment of his career, a great end of 2009 season (Shanghai, Masters Cup) and a good start in 2010 (Triumphs in Doha vs Roger and Rafa). This Australian Open was a great chance for him. After this match, his career collapsed.
Technically, his career collapsed in the Rotterdam SF a month later, when he fell on his wrist, and it was misdiagnosed as a wrist sprain. And after an MRI at IW, it turned out that he actually had a fractured wrist. After that, he was never the same player again.
+Ema Rosales I feel that Davydenko had a "mental problem" against Federer. Always in the big matches, excepting the Shanghai 2009, he was very shy and he wasn't go for his shots. Another match comes to mind, in RG semifinal or quarterfinal, He was taking off Federer all the time with a great crosscourt Backhand playing incredible, but in the important points he felt so much the pressure. Was a shame he can't win a Grand Slam, another remarkable players who did not this were Nalbandian, Rios, Soderling.
Felipe Navarrete It was London 2009 and then Doha 2010, where he finally beat Fed. He was more primed than ever to finally beat Fed in a GS with this newfound belief that he could beat him. And through the first set and a half, he was working his game plan to perfection, being aggressive and taking balls early. And then, he failed to convert BP for a 4-1 lead, and just went away for almost an hour, as he lost 13 straight games
Overall, the entire fall of 2009 was almost perfect for Davy. Titles in Shanghai and London also fell there and it was certainly one of the highest levels any player has shown. And if he had come to life long enough, it would have been very interesting to watch him against 2011 Novak.
but he can for sure win grand slams without taking toilet breaks, faking injuries and retiring when losing. Also doesn't act like a 2 year old, screams at his camp, breaks racquets, gets disqualified. You know.@@aleksandarmiletic5610
I remember watching this match. Davydenko was crushing Fed for a set and a half. It was like he had a cheat code. Then Fed just started hitting it up the middle and making Davydenko create all the angles. Before you know it, Davydenko was shanking everything. One of the craziest matches I ever saw.
Noticed in the highlights that once Federer successfully hits one of those deep loopers or short angled slices, and Davydenko suddenly can’t handle it Federer just goes on the attack.
I like to take into account that Davydenko is the only player in the top 45 to have a winning record against Nadal. And even then, 4 of the 5 wins Nadal has against Davy are on Clay. Davydenko has a 6-1 record against Nadal on Hard.
Yep. The USO 2006 was a bit lobsided. 2007 USO was close, and Davydenko should have won at least one set. 2010, AO, 2007 FO, and 2006 AO were Davydenko's best shots at beating Federer and potentially winning a slam, but he (IMO choked). Sure, Federer played the big points well, but he didn't play as well as he is capable of and he gave Davydenko lots of opportunities to grab control, but Davydenko couldn't, especially this match. I think Davydenko's serve was the one shot that let him down.
+ACHUTA SRIDHARAN That generation is coming to an end with Nalbandian, Safin, Roddick, Gonzalez, Ferrero, Davydenko, Blake, Fish, Grosjean, Soderling, Stepanik, Clement, Ancic, etc. And Hewitt will be retiring at the 2015 AOpen. Dr. Ivo is still out there. Roger is the last guy standing from his generation. His generation does not get too much respect. But Hewitt's game got hurt when the baseline power game took over. He was great against grinders and serve and volleyers. See Sampras' comments about Hewitt. Safin and Nalbandian probably had the most talent, but mental issues held them back. Roddick had the drive but there were significant flaws in his game - court positioning and back hand. The other guys I mentioned just did not have a well rounded enough game to beat Federer. For Fed, he wants to go out on top to show that he could handle the best of the subsequent generation, ie Djokovic, Nadal and Murray. Please tell me any names I missed from Fed's generation. Wawrinka, Monfils, Baghdatis and Tsonga are in between Fed's generation and Nadal/Murray/Djokovic's generation.
+mrbobevans you named some nice guys there, but Grosjean, Fish? Stepanik? Clement? Ancic? Those are highly mediocre players.. the rest arent exactly gangbangers either, and Soderling isnt from that era. Roger, obviously, as hes by far the only outstanding player of the group and injury free, is the 'last one standing', if you want to call it that...
mrbobevans Don't forget Lopez and Ferrer. Although Ancic, Soderling, Stepanek and Clement aren't from Fed's generation. Soderling and Ancic are closer to Nadal's generation than Fed's; and the other two are from Karlovic's.
I can't tell if you are kidding or not. But this match REALLY DID ruin Davydenko's career. My heart breaks for the guy. This is the one that never was.
Davydenko kinda screwed himself with the comments of how others supposedly feared him. I understand being happy you won the world tour finals, but davydenko went overboard and upset the apple cart.
This video is quite saddening. Disappointed at how Federer played the first set, however, he's lucky that Davydenko wasn't able to get the double break in the 2nd set. This loss must've killed Davydenko, since he was literally killing Federer in the first set. D:
Yes, THAT is tennis!! At least, there's intensity during the rallies and THAT is definitely different than just messing around... On Fed's shots you're talking about, it's Davy he's facing, it's not Murray...........
@jomasterj In terms of confidence, yea, but he was injured most of the year after that tournament, and just lost rhythm. Having said that, I think he deserves at least one slam.
***** He snapped his wrist in Rotterdam, meaning his last tournament played in his prime was this aussie open, where he lost to Federer. That's a fact.
But the wrist is what derailed his career from there on, not Fed. Otherwise he would have got a shot at another big tourney. It's self-explanatory. Stop being so hard on the Playstation Man for no reason. :P
Strange match, only really late in the 4th set that both players were playing at a high level at the same time. Federer's class really shone but a bit sad thinking back now that this is Federer's last slam victory.
@KidAinaVeyron Davydenko was outplaying him was up a set and a break but then Federer took a toilet break the momentum swung towards his way immediately. So he was a bit lucky. But Davydenko's game have lots of ups and downs so he's only got himself to blame.
I'm not 100% sure if Davydenko would have won the match had he gone up a double break in the 2nd set, but the way he was playing and the way Federer wasn't playing, the odds were certainly in his favor. It still would have been tough with Tsonga in the semis and Murray in the final, but he's played those guys good in the past, so Davydenko could have had a realy good crack at winning his first major. He also had some other tough losses to Fed in the USO, here in AO a few years back, RG 2007...
Davydenko was playing out of this world for the first set and a half. It's not like he could have keep it up for the whole match. And Federer lifted his game. I don't think he chocked. He was playing too good at the beginning.
Davydeno on fire, but RF truly ablaze :) :) I really miss this stuff. RF had so many shots from bistering forehands to deft dummies in the blink of an eye.
Now with the story about fixing in tennis games being around now I think that this game was fixed. davydenko was so much better in this game and after winning the first set suddenly nothing worked out of nowhere.
+TheFelix1703 Your suspicion, though understandable, isn't nearly as likely as a shift in momentum. In a post match interview, Federer stated that he had a lot of trouble serving in the earlier stages of the match with the sun. He cited that as the reason for an extra long bathroom break in the middle of the second set as he waited for the sun to move a little. Pretty soon after, he gained the momentum.
***** No, idiot. Stop being sarcastic. Davydenko played amazing the first set and suddenly out of nowhere he played passive and served bad. And that is not the first time Davydenko has done this.
So i am a moron and an idiot because I think somebody could have fixed a game as he may has more than any other player? Get a life. Both of you. Honestly.
The uploader edited out the point (probably to make Federer look better), but in the 2nd set Davydenko missed a super easy winner to break Federer for the 2nd time that set, and from that point on Davydenko completely choked away the match and his career and ranking nosedived immediately afterwards. That super easy missed winner destroyed his mentality and his game never recovered and his serve became even worse than Elena Dementieva's lol.
It seems the outer courts at the AO actually play faster than the show courts. And when the roof is closed on Laver, for example, the conditions actually get even slower, instead of faster. But the plexicushion is like sandpaper on the show courts. Hence, why we got a 6-hour grindfest final in 2012.
I think it was injuries that were his downfall. The man was capable of winning a couple slams, and yes, Federer did stop him at slams on numerous occasions. I think him getting the wrist injury a couple months after this tournament really messed his career up. Apart from Murray, he is certainly the best player of this era not to have won a slam. Perhaps Tommy Haas or Richard Gasquet can also be in that talk, but Davydenko's credentials are much better than those two. Shame he hasn't won one.
2nd Set. Federer Serving at 1-3 and 0-30,NOW the Match changes,if Davydenko would have won that Servig Game,hed be ahead 2 Breaks like the Set before,and would have prob than won the Set 6-2. 2-0 Lead,would have won the Match,but Federer won that Serving Game,went on to win the Set,and as we know,changed Everything!
Peak is not the right term then. The peak of someone's career is when they play their best tennis, not what their age is. Ferrer is 30 but he's playing the best tennis of his life, so would you call 2003-2006 his peak even though he was worse then? Davy was playing at is best and if he had won here, who knows, maybe he would have won the Slam (very likely with the way he was playing). And I didn't say this match ruined Davydenko's career. But he's never been the same since.
plain and simple federer raised his game and davydenko couldn't play as well as he was playing in the first set.if davydenko had played consistently he could have won the match.
![[HL] Roger Federer vs. Nikolay Davydenko 2010 Australian Open [QF]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
