Novak Djokovic Overcomes Davydenko In Montreal
By James Waterson Photo Credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
(August 10, 2011) World No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia rallied from a slow start to defeat 30th-ranked Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 7-5, 6-1 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal Wednesday.
Davydenko blitzed Djokovic at the beginning of the match. He broke him twice to get a 4-1 lead, and then again after the Serb came back to 4-4.
The Russian served for the set and had set points, but was unable to convert.
After that game, Davydenko never held serve, although he did sneak a break in the middle of the second set.
This was Djokovic’s first match since he beat Rafael Nadal to win his first Wimbledon title, and it was an excellent opportunity for him to slip up.
Before today, he had a 3-2 record against Davydenko, who was a mainstay in the top 10 for about five years.
His journey to the final doesn’t get any easier, as he faces the winner between 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and 29th-ranked Marin Cilic in the next round.
Monfils served effectively despite having a 46 percent first-serve percentage.
He lost only two points when his first serve went in, and he won 54 percent of his second-serve points. The Frenchman also hit six aces and never faced a break point.
Eighth-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain reached the third round of the Rogers Cup for the first time in his career after he beat 43rd-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6-2, 7-6 (5).
The Spaniard has a 2-0 record against Gasquet. Both of their previous matches were in 2010 on clay.