Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko

What's the point of winning Nadal and then crashing out of a major at the first round?

I cant work out his strugglings at 5 set matches. Some of us here cringe at nadal slam king's posts, but he speaks the truth when he says that Davydenko is not much of a threat at the majors.

Messarger said:

What's the point of winning Nadal and then crashing out of a major at the first round?

I cant work out his strugglings at 5 set matches. Some of us here cringe at nadal slam king's posts, but he speaks the truth when he says that Davydenko is not much of a threat at the majors.

Click to expand...

To prove he's the GOAT.

Slams are irrelevant (as per **** theory).

Messarger said:

What's the point of winning Nadal and then crashing out of a major at the first round?

I cant work out his strugglings at 5 set matches. Some of us here cringe at nadal slam king's posts, but he speaks the truth when he says that Davydenko is not much of a threat at the majors.

Click to expand...

He's a very good player at zoning so to speak. That's why he can keep it up in three set matches. Daydenko has beaten guys like Fed,Nadal,Delpo,Djokovic on hardcourts in three setters and those aren't lightweights by any means.

Five sets however is a different story, it might as well be a different sport. The top players feel way,way more secure in five setters and the underdogs feel way more threatened. A top player can afford a mistake in five setters whereas the tiniest mistake can cost you a set in three setters and that can be lethal. The underdogs know that they have a mountain to climb.

Davydenko has had leads on Fed in GS's and has failed each time. Fed would have been ousted by berdych or tipsy if GS's were best out of three. Of course this situation is not exclusive to Fed. You saw how players came back from two sets down in AO yesterday. It's the mental approach that davy can't handle in slams, that last push. Davydenko is famous for not being able to close out matches, especially in Slams.

I still says he's a very tough player to beat, even in Slams, but a slam contender he is not because of this mental thing.

namelessone said:

Davydenko is famous for not being able to close out matches, especially in Slams.

Click to expand...

this is the part i dont get. It actually means that he's done most of the hard work, all but cross the finishing line. So what's so different about closing out a 3 set match vs a 5 set match?

Messarger said:

this is the part i dont get. It actually means that he's done most of the hard work, all but cross the finishing line. So what's so different about closing out a 3 set match vs a 5 set match?

Click to expand...

A three set match may happen in a mickey mouse tourney in the middle of nowhere. Less pressure.

A tourney that has 3 outta five is traditionally a very big tourney, a slam,DC or like MS finals use to be. Way more pressure with the eyes of the world upon you.

In davydenko's case, he also has a high risk game and it is very tough to pull off in three out of five.

Messarger said:

What's the point of winning Nadal and then crashing out of a major at the first round?

I cant work out his strugglings at 5 set matches. Some of us here cringe at nadal slam king's posts, but he speaks the truth when he says that Davydenko is not much of a threat at the majors.

Click to expand...

Some guys are just better in best 2 of 3. The champions can pace themselves for a 5-set encounter. It's intangibles like this that differentiate GS winners from the others.

Davy was quite a threat at the last AO.

Maybe, Nadal had a fever when ND beat him.

Or maybe Davy was not well this time. We don't know -- if he talks it will be making excuses, if he keeps quiet people will doubt him. Perhaps, he's chosen not to talk.

It is because, head to head, Nadal has more hair than Davydenko

namelessone said:

A three set match may happen in a mickey mouse tourney in the middle of nowhere. Less pressure.

A tourney that has 3 outta five is traditionally a very big tourney, a slam,DC or like MS finals use to be. Way more pressure with the eyes of the world upon you.

In davydenko's case, he also has a high risk game and it is very tough to pull off in three out of five.

Click to expand...

Yep, right on the money. Just like Nalbandian, Davydenko can wipe the floor with guys in 3 set tournaments. I just think its harder to concentrate for 5 sets and unless you have won a major, you probably don't have the right mindset to compete under those conditions.

Also, it has to be pointed out that its the nadal/federer era. Not too easy to win with those guys in the draw. Davydenko does play a high risk game. He is very aggressive off the ground, especially for a smaller guy. I wonder if he played more like Ferrer, would he be more successful over 5 sets?

He can't win in best of 5s because his game requires him to play extremely high risk tennis for a guy of a small stature. It requires precision timing and literally no room for error.


The only guy of similar height to do it was Agassi, except Agassi was built like a tank and had some of the best eye hand coordination out of any athlete.


Against lower ranked opponents Davydenko is fine, but when playing a hot opponent or against a higher ranked opponent like Federer, Nadal, etc. it is because they put enough pressure on him to force him to go for too much.

Bud said:

Some guys are just better in best 2 of 3. The champions can pace themselves for a 5-set encounter. It's intangibles like this that differentiate GS winners from the others.

Click to expand...

Exactly. I kept saying this about Andy Murray. Some Murray fans were quite upset.

This is what cheaters get. I wonder how much he owes the Russian mob now?

Some robots malfunction once in a while, one time my ball machine only worked for an hour. Maybe he's like my Paper Shredder that can grind things for about 30 minutes straight before having to shut down.

I believe he is being sent back to Russian labs for retooling in order to increase his work rate

sureshs said:

It is because, head to head, Nadal has more hair than Davydenko

Click to expand...

LMFAO post of the day!!!!!

jdubbs said:

This is what cheaters get.

Click to expand...

which one ?

lol good stuff in here

Messarger said:

What's the point of winning Nadal and then crashing out of a major at the first round?

I cant work out his strugglings at 5 set matches. Some of us here cringe at nadal slam king's posts, but he speaks the truth when he says that Davydenko is not much of a threat at the majors.

Click to expand...

I've been saying this too! I just don't get how he can thrash anyone in smaller tournaments but is almost a nonentity in slams. He breaks my heart.

H2H is what really matters...

or Nadal sucks outside of slams & clay masters...?

ps: it was a question...

Bud said:

Some guys are just better in best 2 of 3. The champions can pace themselves for a 5-set encounter. It's intangibles like this that differentiate GS winners from the others.

Click to expand...

He has reached the semis of RG and the USO twice.

His problem is all up in his head.

Just type in YouTube "Federer Davydenko 2007 French Open" and watch the highlights.

He was leading the score in every set, yet managed to lose in straights.

Should have been in the final that year.....

davydenko has been an unknown player for me in the sense that i really haven't watched his highlights like i do other players because he's not that well known by the population. but watching him play last year made me a fan...when he's playing well.

i think anyone of us watching the fiasco that was the davydenko vs verdasco AO match would agree there's something mentally wrong with this guy..at least in slams. just errors after errors from both players, something i wouldn't expect from a guy that just beaten nadal and federer in one tournament only a month beforehand (2009 world tour finals i believe).

the match vs federer in the 10' AO was unbelievable to watch...you know the first 2 sets.. davy shutting down fed at every point. the trademark low and short slice by fed getting slammed back for winner after winner. and then...it just fell apart. seemingly after one error that davy just couldn't let go of.

i agree with other people here as well that the top players are more comfortable at slams because out of 5 sets the probability of them winning increases vs the lower tier players. We can take federer for example, he does make a lot of errors somedays. i remember him making near 50 errors in a match and still win. i think macenroe said it best: "most players when they're missing a shot try and rein it in, not going for so much. fed is the opposite, if he misses that shot then he keeps trying till he makes it." so in a 3 set match that many errors usually will cost him the match, but in a 5 setter he has more chances to dial in the fh and most of us knows that when a top player dials in on a shot it's almost unstoppable.