Davydenko crushes Hrbaty to win Paris Masters

Davydenko crushes Hrbaty to win Paris Masters
November 5, 2006

PARIS (Ticker) - Nikolay Davydenko will be making the trip to Shanghai on a high note.

The fourth seed from Russia, Davydenko claimed his first Masters Series title with an emphatic 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 17 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia in the final of the BNP Paribas Masters on Sunday.

Having arrived in the French capital already assured of a place in the Masters Cup, Davydenko will travel to Shanghai in two weeks quite confident after another dominant display that was typical of his week.

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"The win gives me a lot of confidence for Shanghai, where last year I made the semifinals," Davydenko said. "It's very important to go into Masters Cup winning matches and I'll try to play my best there."

In his opening match, which was away from the television cameras despite being the only player ranked among the top six in the draw, Davydenko did not drop a game in drubbing Christophe Rochus.

The Russian also dismissed Dmitry Tursunov and Mario Ancic in straight sets in subsequent rounds and, although Tommy Robredo took a set off him in the semifinals, Davydenko was in top form against Hrbaty.

In their previous meeting at the Australian Open, Hrbaty claimed the first two sets before losing in five. This time, Davydenko took control early and never appeared to relinquishing it.

After an almost immaculate first set that left Hrbaty floundering after 21 minutes, Davydenko continued his relentless attack, pushing his opponent way behind the baseline with a barrage of accurate groundstrokes.

"With the style that he's playing from the baseline, I don't think I've played against a guy who played a better match like he did today," Hrbaty said. "Basically, I didn't have any chances. Everything was so quick, and he played so fast, that I was just one step always behind the shot."

Reeling from that onslaught, Hrbaty was broken twice in dropping the first four games of the second set. Although the Slovakian did manage to close within 2-5, Davydenko delivered another hugely impressive service game to close the set.

The Parisian crowd, eager for a contest, kept trying to lift Hrbaty's spirits but he was just totally outplayed in all departments.

After breaking in the fifth game of the third set, Davydenko did face four break points in the next game but fought them all off before later capturing his fifth title of the year on his second championship point with another laser-like forehand.

Completing the match in one hour and 38 minutes, Davydenko finished with seven breaks, fired seven aces and held a commanding 31-11 lead in total winners.

Improving to 67-26 this season, Davydenko became the fourth player to win five tournaments this season, tying Spaniard Rafael Nadal and American James Blake. World No. 1 and favorite in Shanghai, Roger Federer has 11 titles this season.

"It feels amazing," Davydenko said. "Making a semifinal or final is okay, but nobody really cares. But if you win the title, the first Masters Series title of your career, that's completely different. Winning the first Masters title at the end of the year is very important for me."

Updated on Sunday, Nov 5, 2006 2:11 pm EST

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