Following his straight-set victory against Roger Federer, Nicolay Davydenko overcame early struggles to defeat Rafael Nadal 0-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 in the Qatar Open final.
From FOXSports.com:
Davydenko led 4-1 in the second-set tiebreaker but unforced errors allowed Nadal to twice serve for the match. However, the Spaniard sprayed his returns wide, and Davydenko broke two times to Nadal’s one in the third set to close it out.
The sixth-ranked Russian’s third straight victory over Nadal improved his overall record to 5-4.
“I did not come here expecting to win. I am surprised that I have won,” Davydenko said. “It is an amazing feeling to have won here. I have played semifinals and finals here but never won.”
It was a second consecutive title for Davydenko after winning the London World Tour Finals on Nov. 29. He also beat Nadal and Roger Federer in that event.
David Nalbandian of Argentina is the only other player to beat Federer and Nadal in the same tournament on two occasions — at the Madrid Masters and Paris Masters in 2007.
Players rarely beat both Nadal and Federer in the same tournament, but now Davydenko has done it twice. That’s quite a feat. However, the 28-year-old is yet to win a Grand Slam, which is his main criticism. Given Davydenko’s unpredictable success in Qatar, he could finally get his due in less than two weeks at the Australian Open.
