Nikolay Davydenko won his first major career tournament by beating Juan Martin del Potro on Sunday with a combination of consistent serves that allowed him to run just about every ball that del Potro could give him.
Del Potro, a US Open champion had three chances to break the Russian’s streak, but Davydenko saved them all to complete a sweep of victories over three of 2009’s Grand Slam champions. He had earlier defeated top-ranked player Roger Federer and lost only five points on the first set and eight points on the second set against del Potro.
This win is a welcome change for the Russian who lost in the finals last year when he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in Shanghai. He also suffered from an injury to his left heel at the start of the year which was the reason for his withdrawal from the Australian Open. He returned in April in time for the French Open where he reached the quarterfinals.
Both players had to contend with a crying baby in the sidelines, and del Potro had to wait for his serve until the baby was taken out of the court. In the end, it was Davydenko’s speed that brought the Argentine down.
“He’s very fast. He plays like PlayStation. He runs to everywhere. It’s very difficult to make winners,” del Potro later remarked.