Nikolay Davydenko stuns John Isner to reach the last-four –
Open de Nice Côte d’Azur 2012
Nikolay Davydenko, who was once ranked at number three in the world, showed some glimpses of his vintage form to surprise the top seed, John Isner of USA, in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(4) in the quarter-finals at the Open de Nice Côte
d’Azur in France on Thursday. The Russian took just an hour and 41 minutes to send his 11th ranked opponent out of the tournament.
A winner of 21 singles titles, Davydenko has reached just his second semi-final of the season. He was beaten by Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, in the last-four stage at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in February.
Talking about Thursday’s match, both players held their opening serves to even out the score at 1-1 in the first set. Davydenko snatched initial breakthrough in the third game and consolidated on it to take a 3-1 lead. The Russian
sustained his advantage till the end, claiming it 6-4.
Both contenders committed a single double fault but Davydenko did not hit any ace compared to five by his opponent. The Russian, however, had a decent first serve percentage of 79 and clinched 21 of the 30 points on them. The 30-year-old
brushed aside both break threats he faced and capitalised on one of the four chances he created in the opener.
Davydenko and Isner served brilliantly in the second set, as they did not drop even a single serve throughout, equalising the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. The Russian took charge from its start, as he opened up
with a 3-0 lead. He did not allow the American to make a comeback and closed it 7-6(4).
The Russian survived eight huge aces from his opponent and did not deliver any of his own. He banged in 87 percent of the first serves and clinched 30 of the 34 points on them. The Moscow, Russia resident failed to convert any
of the three break points he received but also saved the one he faced in the decider.
The 30-year-old has not yielded good results in the recent past. Before this tournament, he lost three of his last four matches. The Russian was upset by the then world number 201, Robert Farah of Colombia, in straight sets 3-6,
2-6 at the BMW Open.
Davydenko will play Brian Baker of USA in the semi-final. The American out powered Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the quarter-final.
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