Andy Murray faces Nikolay Davydenko in a tough opener at the Wimbledon – Tennis News
British number one, Andy Murray, has got the toughest possible start to his dream, as he faces the former world number three, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, in the first round at the Wimbledon Championships in London.
Davydenko did not play many tournaments in past months due to different reasons and his ranking dropped to 47th place, which is why he is unseeded at this year’s championships.
Although, he has never gone beyond the round of 16 at the All England Club but still the Russian can be a real threat to Murray’s mission of becoming the first British to win the Wimbledon Championships since Fred Perry in 1936.
The Brit has beaten the Russian star in five of their nine meetings on the ATP World Tour. Their most recent meeting took place more than three years back, when Murray thrashed Davydenko in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in the quarter-finals
at the 2009 Rogers Cup.
Murray has reached the semi-finals in his last three tries but failed to move to the next step on all of those three occasions. The Brit has been beaten by Rafael Nadal in the last two years and he lost at the hands of Andy Roddick
in 2009. He has been drawn in the half of Nadal again this year, which has put a damp on his chances even if he reaches the last four.
The top Brit has been facing the wrath of top three players of the world, as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have shared last three Wimbledon titles between them.
During a recent interview, Andre Agassi said, "In any other generation he would have multiple Slams and if he was in my generation I would have a lot less. I believe there is so much more he can accomplish in this game. The top
three have definitely established themselves as a cut above, but I do believe he [Murray] has the ability to do it.”
Djokovic also faces a tricky opener, as he will play former world number one, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in the opening round. On the other hand, the other two in the top four have got easier opponents, as Nadal will take on Thomaz Bellucci
of Brazil and Federer will meet Spain’s Albert Ramos in the first match.
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