Roger Federer will be back in action in Melbourne for second-round action on Thursday. Up next for the four-time champion is familiar foe Nikolay Davydenko.
Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko will be doing battle for the 20th time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Australian Open on Thursday.
Federer is dominating the head-to-head series 17-2, including 13-2 on hard courts and 2-0 at the Australian Open. Both of their Melbourne meetings went to four sets; one (in 2010) ended 7-5 in Federer’s favor and the other (in 2006) finished in a tiebreaker. They most recently faced each other early last season in Rotterdam, where the Swiss triumphed 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Davydenko has not been in peak Davydenko form since 2009–when he won the World Tour Finals–and his 2010, 2011, and 2012 campaigns were borderline disasters. Out of almost nowhere, however, the 31-year-old Russian found his game of yesteryear and surged to the Doha final before falling to Richard Gasquet in three tight sets. Davydenko opened on Tuesday by overcoming Dudi Sela 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.
Federer did not play Doha nor any other warmup event, but he swiftly and decisively put to rest any questions about his form. The 17-time Grand Slam champion handled Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 23 minutes during first-round action.
Federer’s interview with Jim Courier after his win over Paire:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXU7xNOM0Ag]
“It was two years ago I think he really struggled with his serve,” Federer said of Davydenko, “but (it) seems like he’s coming back around. I had a very close match with him in Rotterdam last year. Should have won in two; ended up being 4-all, love-40 in the third.
“It’s nice to see him playing well again. You’re aware that he is a top player who can do a lot of damage. I better be well prepared and play well.”
The world No. 2 did just that against Paire, and there is no reason to think that anything will change in this one. Davydenko is playing well, but he is nowhere near what he used to be.
Pick: Federer 6-1, 7-5, 6-2
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