Nikolay Davydenko defeated Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets at the ATP World Tour Finals to capture the first big championship of his career. Davydenko overcame world No. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals before facing del Potro.
Del Potro had three chances to break Davydenko, but the Russian saved them all to complete a sweep of all three of this year’s Grand Slam champions at the season-ending tournament.
“For me it was amazing,” Davydenko said. “Coming here as No. 7 and winning the tournament, it was surprising for myself.”
Davydenko lost in the final of last year’s season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world, falling to Novak Djokovic in Shanghai.
The Russian finished the match with 25 winners and only 15 unforced errors, while Del Potro had 20 winners and 19 unforced errors at the O2 Arena.
Davydenko had a miraculous run at this tournament. After losing his opening match to Novak Djokovic, Davydenko would go on to beat some of the world’s greats. He followed his loss to Djokovic with wins against Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, and Federer. This streak reached its peak in the finals against del Potro, where Davydenko outplayed the U.S. Open champion in front of the London crowd.
