Nikolay Davydenko

Nikolay Davydenko
Country (sports)	Russia
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Height	5 ft 10 in (177 cm)
Turned pro	1999
Plays	Right; Two-handed backhand
Prize money	$3,991,881
Singles
Career record	184-154
Career titles	7
Highest ranking	No. 5 (November 21, 2005)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (2005)
French Open	SF (2005)
Wimbledon	2nd (2005)
US Open	3rd (2004)
Doubles
Career record	39-43
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 31 (June 13, 2005)
	Last updated on: August 11, 2006.

Nikolay Davydenko (Russian: Николай Давыденко; June 2, 1981, Sieverodonetsk, Ukraine) is currently the #1Russian male tennis player and winner of 6 singles titles to date. He currently lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Thus far, Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament was his semifinal at the 2005 French Open, where he lost to Mariano Puerta in five sets.

Early life

Davydenko was born on June 2, 1981, in Sieverodonetsk, Ukraine. At the age of 11, Nikolay left his parents Vladimir and Tatjana to live with his elder brother Edouard in Volgograd, in the belief that Russia would afford more opportunities for his development as a tennis player.

Much later, Davydenko explained his peripatetic youth: "I stayed 4 years in Russia. Edouard worked as a tennis coach for kids and we practiced together. He pushed me pretty hard. At 15 we left for Germany. A Russian who lived there convinced Edouard it would be better for me. In Europe I could play more tournaments than in Russia."[1]

Davydenko was granted Russian citizenship in 1999, at the age of 18.

Tennis career

A pro since 1999, Davydenko first caught the public eye when he took a set off Pat Rafter in his second round match during his Grand Slam debut at the 2001 Australian Open. He won his first ATP title at Adelaide, Australia in 2003. In the last three years he has climbed from 85th to 6th in the world rankings, a feat which has made him the highest-ranked male Russian tennis player as of February, 2006. Davydenko is capable of success on all surfaces, but his best results have generally come on clay courts, and he generally seems to struggle during the hard court season.

Yearly Highlights

2000

Captured first Futures title at Germany #3 and reached final following week at Germany #4
In June, reached back-to-back Futures finals at Germany #6 and #7 and made ATP debut in Amsterdam, reaching SF (l. to Sluiter)
Two weeks later, reached back-to-back Challenger SF at Wrexham and Togliatti
In August, won first Challenger title at Monchengladbach (d. Kempes

2001

Made Grand Slam debut at Australian Open, defeating Fukarek in 1st RD before losing to Rafter in four sets in 2nd RD
Missed six weeks after injuring lower back and hip in 1st RD at Dallas Challenger in February
Did not win a match again until May in Antwerp Challenger (l. in QF)
Advanced to 2nd RD on Roland Garros debut (d. Bjorkman, l. to Hewitt)
Captured Challenger titles in Ulm (d. Labadze) and Istanbul (d. Saulnier)
Finished season with QF in Basel

2002

Won 12 ATP level matches and went 16-9 in Challenger play
On clay in Bastad, defeated C. Rochus and Gonzalez before losing to eventual champion Moya
Captured fourth career Challenger title in Szczecin (d. D. Sanchez)
Finished season with second ATP QF in Vienna

2003

The No. 2 Russian (behind No. 41 Kafelnikov) captured two ATP titles and finished in Top 50 for first time in his career
Opened season with his first career title in Adelaide (d. Vliegen) and three months later began clay court circuit with title in Estoril (d. Kafelnikov in QF, Mirnyi in SF, Calleri in F)
Followed with QF in Barcelona (d. Nalbandian, l. to Moya) and in May advanced to final in St. Poelten (d. Verkerk, l. to Roddick)
Compiled records of 19-15 on clay and 11-13 on hard

2004

The No. 3 Russian (behind Safin, Youzhny) compiled his best pro season by finishing in Top 30 for first time and capturing two ATP titles for second straight year
After a 3-9 start through mid-April, turned things around at ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo where he reached QF (l. to Moya) and began a 10-2 run
Followed with title in Munich (d. No. 5 Schuettler in QF, Verkerk in F) and 3rd RD at AMS Rome (d. Gonzalez, l. to Spadea)
In July, reached SF in Stuttgart (l. to Canas) and one month later advanced to QF in Long Island
In October, captured first career title on Russian soil in Moscow by winning singles and doubles titles (w/Andreev)
Saved one match point in SF win over Youzhny, then saved three match points in final against Rusedski
Compiled records of 19-12 on clay, 7-10 on hard, 7-4 on carpet, 0-3 on grass
Earned a career-high $651,372.

2005

Davydenko began the year with a run to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open
During the claycourt season, Davydenko followed his success at the Australian with semifinal appearances at the Hamburg Masters and the French Open.
He closed out the year by reaching the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters and the Paris Masters, and the semifinals at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.
He finished the year as the No. 1 Russian and the No. 5 player in the world.

Titles (8)

Legend (Singles)
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tour (7)

Singles (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the Final	Score
1.	January 5, 2003	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Kristof Vliegen (Belgium)	6-2, 7-6³
2.	April 13, 2003	Estoril, Portugal	Clay	Agustin Calleri (Argentina)	6-4, 6-3
3.	May 2, 2004	Munich, Germany	Clay	Martin Verkerk (Netherlands)	6-4, 7-5
4.	October 17, 2004	Moscow, Russia	Carpet	Greg Rusedski (Great Britain)	3-6, 6-3, 7-5
5.	May 21, 2005	St. Pölten, Austria	Clay	Jurgen Melzer (Austria)	6-3, 2-6, 6-4
6.	May 27, 2006	Pörtschach, Austria	Clay	Andrei Pavel (Romania)	6-0, 6-3
7.	August 6, 2006	Sopot, Netherlands	Clay	Florian Mayer (Germany)	7-6 ⁶, 5-7, 6-4