2011 Qatar ExxonMobil Open: Review – Rafael Nadal vs. Nikolay Davydenko
A year later and history repeats itself. Playing at the 2011 Qatar ExxonMobil Open this week, Rafael Nadal was denied another shot at the title by defending champion Nikolay Davydenko in a rematch of the 2010 Doha final.
Although the number one Spaniard enjoys 2 doubles title wins at the Doha event, a singles title has eluded him for long. Debuting at the event in 2009, Nadal was seeded first though he was forced to exit after his loss to fifth
seed wildcard entrant Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals. Returning the next year, Nadal moved past two Italians, one German and one Serb for his first final appearance in Doha. Meeting Davydenko in the finals, Nadal rushed to a bagel set win in the opener
before having the tables turned on him and losing the title to the Russian.
Davydenko, on the other hand, is a veteran at the event. Debuting in 2004, the Russian has appeared at every Doha event with the exception of 2009, making 2011 his sixth appearance at the event. However, this is only his second
appearance in the final having never moved past the semis before 2010. Catching a lucky break in 2010, Davydenko defeated Roger Federer in the semis before doing away with Nadal in the finals, making him the only other player besides David Nalbandian to accomplish
this feat.
Davydenko began his title defence at the event, meeting Fabio Fognini last Monday. Defeating the Italian in straight sets, Davydenko moved ahead to meet Jarkko Nieminen in the second round. Enjoying a no set loss record in the
event, Davydenko defeated the Finn before doing away with Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals.
Suffering from flu and fever, Nadal’s run in the event was not smooth. His only simple victory came in the first round when he defeated Karol Beck, 6-3 6-0. Meeting Beck’s compatriot, Lukas Lacko in the second round, the Spaniard
won the first set on tiebreaker before suffering a bagel set loss in the second. It was only in the decider that the world number one bounced back to ensure his run in the event. Nadal moved ahead to enjoy a straight, yet not so simple, sets victory over Latvian
native Ernests Gulbis.
Meeting Davydenko for the tenth time on the court, Nadal lagged the head-to-head 4-5 against the Russian. Taking advantage of the Spaniard’s illness, Davydenko was able to extend his lead in the head-to-head score today.
Winning the toss, Davydenko opened serve in the first set, won games on his service and managed to keep the score tied until 3-3. Catching a lucky break in the seventh game, Davydenko enjoyed three straight game wins to go one
set up in the set score.
Continuing his form into the second, Davydenko dominated the courts and rushed to a 5-0 lead. Desperate to avoid another bagel set loss in the event, Nadal broke through Davydenko’s service in the fifteenth game and won two straight
games before losing the set 6-2.
Still going strong in his title defence, Davydenko meets world number two Federer in the final tomorrow for a rematch of the 2010 Doha semi-final.
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