David Ferrer’s continuing assault on the No. 4 world ranking has a chance of gaining even more steam on Saturday in Doha. Ferrer is set for a semifinal showdown against Nikolay Davydenko.
David Ferrer and Nikolay Davydenko will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they meet in the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Friday.
Davydenko leads the head-to-head series 3-2, including 2-1 on hard courts. They have not faced each other since the Valencia quarters in the fall of 2011, when Ferrer prevailed 6-3, 6-4. Davydenko went on a streak of three straight from 2007 to 2010, the last of which was a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 decision at the 2010 Cincinnati Masters.
Seemingly on a slippery slope to the end of his career, Davydenko has already made a statement to the contrary in 2013. The 31-year-old Russian dismissed Victor Hanescu and Mikhail Youzhny then completely dismantled Simone Bolelli on Thursday, handing the Italian a double-breadstick. Davydenko has not yet lost a set this week, nor has he even been extended to a tiebreaker.
On the other hand, Ferrer’s hot start to the season comes as no surprise whatsoever. The fifth-ranked Spaniard went 76-15 in 2012 and so far this year he is 3-0 with victories over Dustin Brown, Tobias Kamke, and Paolo Lorenzi. Brown actually managed to steal a set, but Ferrer lost only eight combined games to Kamke and Lorenzi.
Highlights of Ferrer’s win over Kamke:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXOm8yz86oU]
Because Rafael Nadal’s extended absence has coincided with Ferrer’s hot streak, a changing of the guard is about to take place at No. 4 in the world. It won’t matter for Australian Open seeding since Nadal is already out of the tournament anyway, but it would be a nice accomplishment for Ferrer.
Don’t expect the train to be derailed on Saturday. This one all comes down to Davydenko’s form and his form has been awesome this week, but it has been prone to sudden and significant dropoffs. If Davydenko continues to play like the Davydenko of old, this will be the best match of the ATP’s season-opening week. But that’s a big “if.”
Odds: Ferrer -300, Davydenko +220
Pick: Ferrer 7-6(3), 6-2
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