“Defending title this year is not out of question,” says Nikolay Davydenko
A year after capturing the Shanghai Masters title, the Russian tennis player Nikolay Davydenko said on Sunday that defending his crown this season is definitely not out of question, despite of his not-so-perfect form due to a previous injury.
The 29-year-old Russian who is seeded number six this season at the Shanghai Masters was sidelined for a couple of months as a result of his broken wrist, and then returned on the tour in the summer. He will start his tournament’s campaign by taking part
in the second round after receiving a first round bye at the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters.
"I am a defending champion. For sure I played very good last year. But being lucky is also very important. With that and good confidence and winning the first couple of matches - maybe it is just possible to win the tournament,” said the right hander on
Sunday.
Nikolay does not figure in the top sixteen in this year point’s race, a dramatic turnaround on previous season’s form which forced him to victories in Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and the season ending Barclays versus Juan Martin Del Potro.
His not-so-perfect form in 2010 has also left the Russian short of qualification for the Barclays World Tour Finals in London, which will start from November. The 29-year-old Nikolay while commenting on the season ending tournament said, "I do not have so
much pressure. You only get that if you feel you can qualify for London. Players are checking to see how many ranking points they need. For me it is different, I know I will not qualify for London this year. I am just enjoying my last couple of tournaments
for the year.”
The Ukraine born Nikolay who’s best result so far in a Grand Slam tournament is a semi-final appearance at the French Open as well as United States Open in New York was of the view that he will take a break after taking part here at the Shanghai Rolex and
will prepare himself for the next season. Davydenko was also a finalist at the Tennis Masters Cup back in 2008 and then improved further to win the ATP World Tour Finals in London back in 2009. He has also captured a total of three Masters Series shields so
far in his career. The right hander Nikolay is one of the few contenders on the tour who enjoy a tremendous winning record versus the world number one Rafal Nadal of Spain.
The Russian who is yet to play his opening match at the Shanghai Rolex 2010 said that he is quite impressed with the overall growth of the tournament and is hoping to see many more changes when he comes here next year.
In some first round clashes at the Qi Zhong stadium on Sunday, the Spaniard tennis player Albert Montanes got the better of Tommy Robredo in a two-setter clash. The final match score was 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). The sixteen seed Nicolas Almagro, on the other hand,
was thrashed out by Aleksandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in three sets on Sunday. The final match score was 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3).
The main draw of the Shanghai Rolex is led by the top ranked player in the world, Rafael Nadal of Spain, who completed his career Grand Slam by winning his maiden United States Open title last month in New York followed by his semi-final run in Bangkok and
a title victory at the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo.
Novak Djokovic is seeded number two to win the title ahead of Andy Murray and Roger Federer, with the world number five Robin Soderling seeded fifth in Shanghai.
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