SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – It was fitting that Nikolay Davydenko should get his biggest win of the year yesterday at a Shanghai Masters tournament dominated by injury retirements and a debate over the length of the season.
The 28-year-old Russian, who beat Spanish world number two Rafa Nadal 7-6 6-3 in the final, has long had a reputation as one of the hardest working players in the game.
Andy Roddick, who said Monnday that the careers of top players could be shortened if the season was not reduced in length, was one of nine players who subsequently failed to complete their matches at the tournament.
“It’s good for me if everybody gets injured at the end of the year, because I didn’t play the first three months of the year and everybody played already,” said Davydenko, who now has a good shot at making the World Tour finals in London next month.
“Maybe I have more chance coming to London. Maybe everybody will retire in London and I can win London,” he joked.
Whippet-thin with a bald pate and an unflamboyant style of play, the 28-year-old baseliner is under no illusion that he is one of the sport’s stars.
“I want to finish top 10 in this year, just this thing, for me, it’s important. Everything else is not so important,” said the current number eight.
“I don’t want to have more fans. Okay, more money is always good. But I’m not the sort of person who wants to be famous.
“Nobody expects me to win a tournament. And so I have no pressure. If I win, it’s good. If I lose, also it’s okay. I just play and I do my job.”
He is no journeyman either, racking up more than $10 million in prize money in a decade on the tour and finishing in the top five at the end of each season since 2004.
