2010 BNP Paribas Masters Match Review: Nikolay Davydenko vs. Michael Llodra
Following Robin Soderling and Andy Roddick on Court Central were Russian Nikolay Davydenko and rising local star Michael Llodra.
In-form Llodra, who enjoys his best season to date, adds yet another champion in his list of conquered professionals as he defeats Davydenko to move ahead into the semi finals of the BNP Paribas Masters at Bercy. Davydenko had won the title here in 2006.
Llodra had moved into the quarterfinals after upsetting second seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic. He enjoyed a straight, though not so simple, set win of 7-6(6), 6-2 over the 2009 champion. Having done away with sixteenth seed John Isner in the second round, Llodra added another seed topple to his achievements as he defeated tenth seed Davydenko. Llodra is the first unseeded professional to make it to the semi finals since David Nalbandian in 2007. He moves into the semi finals with no set loss in all three matches.
Doing away with three of the top twenty players this week, Llodra is reported to have said, "It's just a follow up to what I did all year round. I've improved on many little things, but the main thing is my mental progression. I am now able to be better than the Top 30. I'm not saying I can do that every week, but on this type of surface, this week here in Paris; I was able to have three victories in a row against Top 20 players. It's good for the future."
The local came into the event with a year win-loss mark of 25-20 with two titles to his name; one at Marseille and the second at Eastbourne. Looking to end the season with another title win, Llodra has not only brought his A game to the courts, but also has fully capitalized on the home court advantage.
Entering into the first set, Llodra made a very slow start with the Russian taking the lead at 4-2. However, Llodra bounced back taking the score to 5-5. He went on to win the next two consecutive games winning the first set 7-5. The French maintained his form into the second set winning five consecutive games, taking the score to 5-0. From there on it was more or less evident as to who would be the winner. Llodra won the second set 6-2. Having served nine aces in the entire match, Llodra lost only fourteen of fifty three points on service to secure a victory over the Russian in seventy five minutes.
The much happy Llodra in his post-match talk to the press said, "I knew it was tough against him, because he has very good returns. This is typical from him. I knew I shouldn't get scared even if I was broken. I needed to be very serious about my serves, and I needed to play serve and volley because he was returning well. And also, I was very lucid on break points. When I had opportunities, I tried to be aggressive. I think today it was more mental victory than a tennis victory."
Llodra ensures French representation in the semi finals where he goes on to face fourth seeded Soderling.
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