World No three defeats Davydenko after dropping first set in World ATP finals
World No three defeats Davydenko after dropping first set in World ATP finals
Defending champion Novak Djokovic handed Nikolay Davydenko another painful defeat at the ATP World Tour Finals as the Serb secured a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory yesterday.
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World No three Novak Djokovic celebrates after a winner against NIkolay Davydenko during the World ATP Tour Finals in London yesterday. Djokovic won 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. pic/AFP |
Djokovic beat Davydenko to win the final of this prestigious end-of-year event 12 months ago and the World no three, who also defeated the Russian in the group stage last year, came from behind to frustrate him again in his opening Group B match at London's O2 Arena.
Robin Soderling's surprise victory over Rafael Nadal earlier had thrown the group wide open and Djokovic looks in the mood to mount a strong bid to retain the title.
After suffering something of a slump in the aftermath of his 2008 Australian Open triumph, Djokovic has been in supreme form of late.
The 22-year-old has reached a career-best 10 finals this year and since September's US Open he has collected three ATP Tour titles and won 18 of his 19 matches.
Djokovic's solitary defeat during that remarkable run came against Davydenko in the semi-finals in Shanghai.
Davydenko's metronomic accuracy kept Djokovic from taking control early on and the World No six got the first break in the fifth game and went on to win the first set comfortably.
