Davydenko crushes Rusedski to near Shanghai slot
PARIS, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Russia's Nikolay Davydenko stayed on course for a berth at the year-end Masters Cup when he crushed former champion Greg Rusedski 6-2 6-2 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.
Davydenko, seeded third, needed only 59 minutes to move past Rusedski, who won the indoor tournament in 1998 and would have made sure of ending the season as the British number one ahead of Tim Henman had he won.
"I really felt I couldn't get through him at all today and I didn't feel like I played as well as I could," said Rusedski, who will have one last chance to overtake Henman when he plays a second-tier challenger tournament in Ukraine.
A semi-finalist at this year's French Open, Davydenko sits in seventh place in the ATP Champions race and will qualify for the eight-strong season finale from Nov. 13 in Shanghai if he can hold on to that spot.
The 32-year-old Rusedski, who scored a memorable win over Pete Sampras in the final here seven years ago, was never in contention against Davydenko.
The Russian all rounder remained in control until hitting a forehand winner on the first match point.
Rusedski said he would definitely play a full year in 2006 but would start the season a few weeks late because his wife, Lucy, is expecting their first child.
"There's been a lot of positives this year," he said. "The body has been very good to me. Physically, I feel good. I feel I can get stronger over the next few months, too".
Second seed Guillermo Coria had earlier disappeared from the lucrative event, brushed aside 6-4 6-2 by Czech Tomas Berdych.
Argentine Coria, who would have secured a Masters Cup berth with a victory, looked clumsy and made a string of unforced errors.
Berdych, who had beaten fellow Czech Jiri Novak in the first round, capitalised on his opponent's mistakes and earned three match points when Coria netted a backhand.
Coria saved the first two with service winners but, on the third, Berdych fired a backhand pass down the line to seal victory in just over an hour.
Coria can still win one of the two remaining tickets to Shanghai but his fate depends on how the other eight contenders fare in Paris.
Updated on Tuesday, Nov 1, 2005 10:24 am ES
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