Davydenko Retires – Gaudio in Final

23. July 2005
Davydenko Retires – Gaudio in Final -
For the second time in a row and the third time overall Gaston Gaudio has managed to reach the final of the MercedesCup. The Argentinean player clearly had the better start in the match against the No. 2 seed, the Russian Nikolay Davydenko. The 2004 French Open champion won the first set 6:3 and went into the second set with a very promising 2:0. Davydenko, No. 7 in the world rankings, who had already been treated by the tournament physiotherapist during the interval between the sets, was then able to take Gaudio’s service game, but finally had to give in to his illness. At a score of 2:1, the Russian retired, giving the Argentinean another chance to win the Mercedes-Benz champion’s car in the final. - In spite of the unusual turn the match had taken, Gaudio was very happy over his successful semi-final. “Of course I am sorry for him,” he said in view of Davydenko’s bad luck, “But of course it is much better for me.” Now he is concentrating on the final against Rafael Nadal. “That is a super situation to be able to play against him, to try to beat him and break his series of wins. And anyway, I will be playing here for the third time in the final. That means a lot of great things are going to happen tomorrow.” There is no doubt, continued Gaudio, that the Spaniard is the clear favourite for the coming duel. “But every match is different and writes a story of its own.” Irrespective of how the final ends, the three-time MercedesCup finalist is full of praise for Weissenhof, “I love this tournament.”

http://mercedescup.trendspurt.de/_press/?&block_id=2&activelevel=4&activelevel_2=0