...Along Came Davydenko
Three weeks ago, if someone had bet all of their money on Davydenko to win this year’s Sony Ericsson Open, the Miami Masters, the world would have laughed at the bettor. Better yet, the world would’ve bet all their money against the previous bet only to prove it wrong. But now, those people shall keep their money save in their bank account since Davydenko has deservedly taken the spotlight in the Open’s final after beating Nadal superbly.
During the weeks of the Miami Masters, we’ve seen mixed feelings resulted by some games’ results. Some were saddened (not me!) to see Djokovic’s fall in the early round. Some Americans had obviously placed their hopes on Roddick’s shoulder for a sweet comeback. Some more were hoping Federer would finally raise his stake to get his first title this year. Alas, those hopes were crushed by Roddick’s eventual victory over Federer after 5 years of losing to the world’s no.1. A case of long overdue wishful vengeance, if you ask me. Good for Roddick! It was probably a wonderful month for him: an engagement with a stunning model and a triumph of his own long-battle with Fed. What more could he ask? If I were Roddick, I wouldn’t be too thwarted to not win the title. Yet, it was a massive disappointment for Federer’s supporters in the whole wide world, including me. Not only did it lead him to another failure to claim a title this year, but, to add insult to injury, he also had to suffer from losing his long-domination over Roddick by being defeated by the American. Ah well…all in a day, Fed! All in a day...
And then there were 4 in the semifinals. It was hardly a clandestine to unfold the two favorites people wanted to see in the final: Roddick and Nadal indeed. Perhaps, the best bet was that Nadal would definitely beat Roddick in no time. But then...along came Davydenko. The underdog warrior, despite being the world number 4, who came to the battle with only one racket as his weapon. Amid the cloud of the depressing controversy, the ongoing investigation by the ATP after suspicious betting on an August match, no one expected him to be the last man standing in the court. His calm, collective, and quiet appearance certainly fooled a lot of people. He, nevertheless, remarkably showcased a beautiful tennis performance. In less than 90 mins and 2 straight sets, he deservedly claimed a vigorous 6-4, 6-2 win over Rafael Nadal, the second seed. With wonderful backhands, he aggressively dominated both serve and return with superb tactical variations that effectively ruined Nadal’s play which forced him to make uncharacteristic errors against Davydenko’s energetic yet calm liveliness.
The most impressive thing about Davydenko’s performance in the final, besides his obvious glorious victory, was that it wasn’t that Nadal didn't perform as brilliant as he usually did. In fact, Nadal was simply giving out his usual bright performance indeed. Unfortunately, Davydenko merely played much more brilliant than Nadal did. As Nadal admittedly stated, “He played unbeliavable tennis. And there was nothing i could do.“ Perhaps, as the world has been very wise to acknowledge the rise of Russia, the country that is, it shall be wise as well to not underestimate another rising Russian, Nikolay Davydenko.
