Nikolay Davydenko dumps Andreas Beck to reach the second round draw – 2012 Open 13
Former world number three, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, cruised his way to the second round of the Open 13, being contested in Marseille, France, on Tuesday. He rooted out the unseeded German opponent, Andreas Beck, in straight
sets, 6-1, 7-5, in the opening round clash of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament.
Currently rated at number 40 in the South African Airways ATP World Rankings, Davydenko displayed glimpses of his vintage class to overwhelm his opponent in the game. He went berserk in the opening set, outshining his opponent
with a breadstick to start off the proceedings. Beck posed some resistance in the following set but got choked out in the last moments of the match and submitted to the Russian veteran in the end.
It was Davydenko’s second victory over Beck in the singles encounters. These two went one-on-one in Stuttgart, German, way back in 2004 and the Russian disposed of Beck, 6-3, 6-3, in front of his home crowd reach the quarter-finals
of the tournament. It was no different this time round, as the Russian nailed another straight sets victory over the German to double his lead in the head-to-head series against him.
The 30-year-old Russian delivered just 64 per cent of his first serve on target but clinched 29 out of 38 points on it to take the better of his opponent. He nailed three out of seven break points in the match, with Beck utterly
failing to craft even a break opportunity in the entire matchup. A clear difference of class and game play was witnessed in the contest, with Davydenko outmuscling the German in an authoritative manner.
Davydenko will need to get his screws tightened up for his next clash against the world number 10, Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, in the second round of the Open 13. The former US Open champion is seeded fourth in the tournament
and received a bye to have a direct access to the second round. He is fresh of a championship title defeat at the hands of the third-ranked Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer. Del Potro lost to Federer in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Championships in Rotterdam,
Netherlands, last Sunday and is looking to have his revenge by claiming the championship title in Marseille. Davydenko will be stepping on court against the fourth seed Argentine as the underdog contestant but a tough battle is anticipated between the two
veterans.
Tags: