Het oerdegelijke Nikolay Davydenko topic; nu zónder fixes.

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Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko; born June 2, 1981 in Severodonetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian tennis player of Ukrainian descent. He is, as of November 10, 2008, the top ranked male player for Russia, 11th in the world, and the winner of fourteen ATP singles titles.

Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semi-finals, which he has done on four occasions - twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open.

Davydenko was born on June 2, 1981, in Severodonetsk, Ukraine to Vladimir and Tatyana. At the age of 11, Nikolay left his parents in Ukraine to live with his elder brother Eduard in Volgograd, Russia in the belief that Russia would afford more opportunities to become a professional tennis player.

Years later, Davydenko explained his peripatetic youth, "I stayed 4 years in Russia. Eduard worked as a tennis coach for kids and we practiced together. He pushed me pretty hard. At 15 we left for Germany. A Russian who lived there convinced Eduard it would be better for me and help me to learn more about my game with better coaches. In Europe I could play more tournaments and earn more money than in Russia."[citation needed]

Davydenko was granted Russian citizenship in 1999 at the age of 18, and has represented Russia ever since. In 2007 he applied for Austrian citizenship (so as to obtain a dual citizenship), and has also previously applied for German citizenship.

Tennis fans have nicknamed Davydenko "Kolya", the Russian nickname for Nikolay. He has also been called "Iron Man" because he plays in more tournaments per year than any other player, just like fellow Russian and former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Another nickname is "The Machine" due to his aggressive, consistent style of play.

Davydenko's favourite players growing up were Ivan Lendl and Yannick Noah. During his spare time he enjoys cycling, fishing, soccer, and hockey. He is also a Guns N' Roses fan. He speaks Russian, German and English.

Before the Davis Cup in 2006, Davydenko married his girlfriend and traveling companion of three years, named Irina. He currently resides in Volgograd, Russia.

Playing style

Davydenko employs an aggressive baseline game, using hard, penetrating groundstrokes on both wings. His groundstrokes are technically efficient on both forehand and backhand. He hits the ball extremely early which generates immense power and depth resembling former World No. 1 Andre Agassi. Davydenko's best shot is his backhand which he can hit down the line, cross court or with extreme angles. He is known for his running shots which he takes early and often turn into winners. He has a very good forehand and backhand and also a good service. Davydenko´s style makes him a good player on any surface, especially hardcourts and clay.

Controversies

The ATP launched a match-fixing investigation of Davydenko's match against Martín Vassallo Argüello in Sopot of 2 August 2007, after several large bets were placed at an online British gambling company, Betfair, in Arguello's favor after Davydenko had won the first set 6–2. Davydenko withdrew from the match during the third set with a foot injury. Although Davydenko had suffered three first-round defeats in his last three tournaments, was injured in an earlier-round match, and showed signs of injury in the second set, it did not make sense to Betfair that such a heavy betting volume would go in Arguello's direction at that point of time in the match. Per its agreement with the ATP, Betfair notified the Tour. It has since been revealed that nine people based in Russia had bet US$1.5m on Davydenko losing while two unknown people would gain US$6m from the loss. A total of $7 m was wagered on the match, ten times the usual amount. Due to these irregularities, the bet was voided. On September 11, 2008 Davydenko, along with Arguello, was cleared of any involvement in match-fixing. At over a year in the process, the inquiry was the longest ever held into match-fixing in tennis.

Further controversy had also surrounded Davydenko after one of his matches at St. Petersburg Open in October 2007. During his 1–6, 7–5, 6–1 defeat by Marin Cilic he was given a code violation by umpire Jean-Philippe Dercq for not giving his best effort. He was later fined $2000 (£987) by the governing body of men's Tennis, the ATP, but the fine was rescinded upon appeal. The following week, he lost 6–2, 6–2 to Marcos Baghdatis at the Paris Masters. This generated some controversy, as Davydenko was cautioned by the umpire to do his best during the match.

Davydenko - lack of effort warning

N. Davydenko vs. R. Nadal (17-05-2007)

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Op zondag 31 mei 2009 22:23 schreef VerdwaasdeVogel2 het volgende:
Goed topic.

Onderschatte speler. Heb waanzinnig goed en mooi tennis van hem gezien en hoe hij terugkomt van die blessure is ook knap, maar, gaat hij de Masters Cup nog halen, nu ook Tsonga, Roddick, Del Potro en Verdasco zeer constant goed presteren?