Roger Federer downs Nikolay Davydenko to take off the new ATP season – Qatar Open 2012
Former world number one, Roger Federer, had no difficulty at all in dumping the 41st ranked Russian, Nikolay Davydenko, in the opening round of the ExxonMobil Qatar Open to kick off the new ATP (Association of Tennis
Professionals) season in style. The second seed Swiss wrapped up victory in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, taking merely 54 minutes of play to get a place in the round of 16 of the ATOP World Tour 250-level tournament in Doha, Qatar.
The contest held on Tuesday night witnessed yet another magnificent display of quality hitting from the world number three, beating Davydenko in every segment of the game to earn his first victory of the year. The Swiss maestro
gained momentum early in the game and held with his pace till the end to register his 16th victory over the former world number three in his usual assertive fashion.
The defending champion, Federer, outclassed Davydenko in the final of Qatar Open last year to claim the championship title in a straight sets victory. He replicated the similar feat on Tuesday but with lot more authority this time
round to step closer to the quarter-final rounds of the Australian Open warm-up tournament.
“It was a combination of me playing really well and Nikolay not finding his range like we're used to seeing in the past,” said Federer after stretching his lead to 16-2 in all-time head-to-head combats against Davydenko. “This
is obviously an important step to get used to the conditions.”
The Russian utterly failed to craft even a single break opportunity in the entire matchup, while suffered four out of seven crushing breaks of serve from the Swiss maestro to bow out to him in less than an hour. Federer had a ballistic
start to the opening set, breaking the unseeded Russian in the very first game and holding his serve to lead 2-0 early. His mighty forehand kept launching thudding winners down the baseline, with Davydenko being a mere spectator watching the fiery strokes
passing beyond his reach. Another cracking break point conversion in the seventh game closed out the set for Federer at 6-2, letting him one up in the contest.
The following set was a complete replication of the first tone, with the second seed breaking his opponent’s serve in the first and fifth game to claim a comprehensive victory at 6-2. Federer will next face the Slovenian competitor,
Grega Zemlja, in the second round to battle for a place in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.
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