Davydenko takes it to the wire in Moscow

Davydenko takes it to the wire in Moscow

The last time France and Russia played each other in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas it went to a live fifth rubber, and the same is happening again, following Nikolay Davydenko's 62 46 62 61 win over Richard Gasquet.Davydenko's second victory of the weekend levels the score in this evenly-matched tie, but the fifth rubber won't be a repeat of the 2002 final in Paris, when Mikhail Youzhny beat Paul-Henri Mathieu in five sets. Mathieu is on court, but Youzhny has been left on the sidelines, Russia's captain Shamil Tarpischev opting for Igor Andreev to decide his country's fate.Davydenko was on fire from the start against Gasquet. He had break points in the opening game of the match, and while Gasquet saved both those, the Russian broke in the third, and then recovered from 0-40 to hold for 3-1.With Davydenko leading 6-2 2-0, Gasquet looked a forlorn figure. He seemed immobile in the first set, which looked like nerves but he later said was tiredness from the nervous tension of his win over Andreev on Friday. His big forehand was missing too often, he had no depth on his sliced backhands, and the accuracy of Davydenko's serving was making it a very one-sided affair.But having held serve for 1-2, Gasquet fought himself back into the match. He began to show more patience, and wait for the moment to inject pace. At 3-4 he got his reward. Having held serve at 2-4, he won 12 of the next 14 points to level the match, and at that stage a French victory seemed the more likely outcome.But when Davydenko broke in the third game of the third set, Gasquet suddenly felt his legs and the Russian crowd - by far the biggest of the twin-tie weekend involving Fed Cup and Davis Cup - found its voice again. A further break saw Davydenko race through the third set, and break in the first game of the fourth.When Gasquet had break points to get back to 2-2, a repeat of the second set looked possible, but whereas Gasquet had found patience in the second, he lacked it in the fourth, and too many wild shots missed their target. He was broken three times in the fourth set, the match ending with Gasquet putting a backhand tamely into the net."I think I proved today that I really am a top ten player, whether for myself in a tournament or in a team," said Davydenko, who first shook hands with the former Russian president and avid tennis fan Boris Yeltsin, and then spent about 10 minutes signing scores of autographs among eager fans straining over the front row of seating to get a taste of the man who, in the absence of Marat Safin, has done justice to the tag of Russia's No 1.


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